Gifts and Curses
by Sinopa
Summary: ReidOC. Who is Marny Taylor, and how many secrets is she hiding from the Ipswich Covenant? M for Future Chapters, Violence, and Possible Adult Themes.
1. Prologue

**Gifts and Curses**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own any of the characters from The Covenant, nor do I own any of the song lyrics featured before each chapter. If anything else comes up that needs to be cited, it will be so at the bottom of each chapter.

**Prologue:**

11:00 P.M.

Only two minutes had passed since Marny's last desperate glance at her watch and they had only been the longest two minutes of her life. The room was stuffy and hot from the fireplace, and the incense Madelyn had burning was making her nose twitch.

She had promised Madelyn she would read tarot cards at the Ipswich Halloween party, everyone attended it every year school night or not, and she had been reading for three hours.

The office was decorated like a harem more than a gypsy caravan, the rest of the house was decorated to be scary. It made her think of a Buffy episode, the frat-boy Halloween party one in fourth season…Fear itself? She couldn't remember now, but it was more polished and had less magic induced screaming.

11:01 P.M.

Damn. Damn damn damn. She wasn't doing anyone anymore favors for the rest of the year. She had only agreed to do this so she had a good reason to come to the party, she did have something else that needed to be done but if she didn't get to it in the next fifteen minutes she would likely be too late.

She moved her wrists on the desk so her bangles were not digging into her skin, the shoulder-free blouse was two chilly for New England Halloween, but it was to hot for the closed in office. Others at the party had dressed in less; Kira had come as a Play Boy Bunny, her red hair standing out against the white of the suite. Madelyn had dressed as a maid to fit her position as the hostess. There were vampires, other gypsies, multiple pirates and wizards and witches with warts on their noses and pointed hats.

She had spotted three of Sons of Ipswich as she had been dragged by Madelyn to the office; Caleb Danver was dressed as Harry Potter laughing with his girlfriend, transfer student Sarah Wenham, who was dressed at Ginny Wesley in a red wig.

Pouge Parry hadn't really dressed up, he was dressed as a Biker, as was Kate Tunney, but as everyone knew he drove a motorcycle this wasn't a real effort…He looked the same in black clothes and a leather jacket, his long hair the final effect.

Tyler Sims was one of the pirates; his blue eyes were outlined in kohl and could have made any girl faint. His curly black hair was just visible under a tri-corn hat; he hadn't drawn on facial hair which made the costume even hotter in Marny's mind. He looked like a navy officer that had jumped ship, just slightly dangerous and yet kind and unsure at the same time.

By 9:30 she had taken off the wig of long curling black hair and had pulled the pins holding her two braids of wavy dark brown hair back. The heat and the wig had caused her hair to frizz in its braids but she was past caring. _She only had to go to school with these people_, she scoffed.

11:03 P.M.

She was getting out of here, forget her _mission_, and forget her promise. She was bored, hot, and annoyed and she was leaving-

"Hello?"

She looked up from collecting her cards, a blonde boy had walked in…Or, she thought he might be blonde; the room was only lit with candles so it was dark and smoky, and he was wearing a dark toboggan.

She sighed.

"Welcome to Miranda's Fortune Caravan." She said the title Madelyn had given her in a bored voice, "Allow me to read your cards and know your future." Picking at one of her darkly painted fingernails she secretly wished he would leave so she could sneak away.

"Thought it was the bathroom." He smirked.

It wasn't the first time of the night she had heard this, she pointed her index finger to the left and smiled politely, "down one more door."

To her surprise he didn't walk out and close the door behind him, but came farther into the room.

He only had the vaguest idea as to why. The girl was pretty, but she wasn't his idea of gorgeous. She looked younger, freshmen or sophomore, her nose was too straight, her teeth just a little crooked. Her skin was too pale for her dark hair. Perhaps if she had light colored eyes. Her hair was frizzing out of her braids.

The room wasn't even comfortable, the combined heat from the ducts and from the fireplace made the room stifling, someone had burned two different types of incense making the room smile like dying flowers and something too fruity. It made him think of a cheep whorehouse.

But he did find people amusing when they thought they had some kind of power, some kind of control over the supernatural, when he and his three friends could do almost anything they wanted.

"So are you gothic or something?" he questioned, sprawling into the soft seat opposite hers at the desk, he nodded toward her dark nails.

She wrinkled her nose in disgust, "I'm not gothic! This is dark brown polish." She stopped at the laugh that came from him and rolled her eyes, "You want your cards read or not?"

"Be my guest."

"I'll use the Major Arcana, and the Jungian spread…" she blew out a breath, getting a few strands of her bangs out of her eyes, and sat up to shuffle the cards. "Cut them into five piles." She leaned forward to pass the cards to him over the desk.

She glanced up startled when his fingers accidentally grazed hers as he took the deck.

He could have sworn that for just a minute her eyes had changed, but he blew it off to the darkness in the room and the smoke from the still burning incense. He sat the cards down into five uneven piles upon the desk and looked back up at the 'gypsy' in braided pig-tails.

She looked at the piles and pulled them towards her, flipping the top one over from each pile, turning some around, moving them into a pattern on the desk.

"The card of current influences is The Magician, the card of now." She smirked at the irony of the card and the rumors of Ipswich family's past. "You're excited and eager for a coming change, possibly as soon as an hour from now, and it's building in you.

"The Empress has taken the position of the effects others are having upon you, or mayhap will have upon you soon. She is the mother, and predicts birth or renewal in a relationship.

"The Tower," she stopped and ran her fingers across the card surface gently, mildly unnerved, her head bowed and bangs lose from their pins hiding her eyes. "Is a problem card. It is the end, it is death, and it is destruction- a job or relationship, a part of oneself." She paused again, fingers resting on the darkest card of the deck, its picture twisted, a tower without windows, storms brewing behind, intruding. A warning.

"The shadow side position is filled with Justice, it warns of a battle. You will be fighting for a principal that is central to your happiness- this fight will come after the destruction the Tower speaks of, and the Tower will come after the Empress time is over.

She looked back up at him for the first time since she began reading. Her eyes, this time he was sure, had changed. They were no longer a dark brown but the whole eye was white- no iris, no pupil, just white.

"And this card, is you, Reid Garwin." She flipped over the card in the last pile, the only card she hadn't flipped over and arranged at the beginning, but had just brushed her fingers over, and pushed The Devil, and his grinning leer towards him.

"You're angry, and it's reaching a boiling point inside. At someone close to you-"she paused, "someone trying to control your decisions, your life…"

**TBC**


	2. Bend and Not Break

**Gifts and Curses**

**Chapter One: **Bend and Not Break

I catalogue these steps now  
Decisive and intentioned.  
Precise and patterned  
Specifically to yours.

I'm talented at breathing  
Especially exhaling,  
So that my chest will  
rise and fall with yours.

I'm careful not to wake you  
Fearing conversation.  
It's better just to hold you  
And keep you pacified.

I'm talented with reason  
I cover all the angles.  
I can fail before I ever try.

Try to understand there's an old mistake  
that fools will make and,  
I'm the king of them  
pushing everything that's good away so,  
Won't you hold me now? (I will not bend, I will not break)  
Won't you hold me now? (I will not bend, I will not break)

I am fairly agile  
I can bend and not break  
Or I can break and take it with a smile.

And I am so resilient  
I recover quickly  
I'll convince you soon that I am fine

Try to understand there's an old mistake  
that fools will make and,  
I'm the king of them  
pushing everything that's good away so,  
Won't you hold me now? (I will not bend, I will not break)  
Won't you hold me now? (For you I rise, for you I fall)

(bridge)

Just hold me close to you. (X4)  
(Won't you hold me now?) (X2)

Try to understand there's an old mistake  
that fools will make and,  
I'm the king of them  
pushing everything that's good away so,  
Won't you hold me now...?  
Won't you hold me now... now... now...?

_-Dashboard Confessional_

"Who are you?" Reid questioned. He didn't move from his chair, didn't even look uncomfortable- she couldn't tell if it was an act. Marny's eyes flashed back to their natural brown and she reached out quickly to collect her cards.

"Miranda Taylor." She answered smoothly, wrapping her tarot deck in a silk cloth. "I transferred in-"

"That explains why I didn't recognize you." Reid interrupted leaning forward in his chair.

"-My freshmen year." She glanced up, her brows furrowed slightly, and looked into his gray eyes.

"Where are you from?" He questioned next, as she looked around her chair for her wig. The damn thing had cost a good twenty and she would be damned if she forgot it.

"England, I moved back here when I was 11. Well, not here precisely. I attended Maryland School of Arts, in Baltimore until my father died."

He stood up and walked across the other side of the desk, grabbed her wrists and started dragging her out of the room without too much pressure.

"What are you doing?" She growled, attempting to pull her wrist out of his grip.

"I don't have time for this." He looked at his watch; she couldn't see what time it was since her hand was in his.

"No one will believe you, you know." She said angrily, but quietly as she almost hit someone in the narrow hallway they were pushing through. He glanced at her over his shoulder.

"I know three people that will." Her eyes flashed white and she pulled at his grip the same time that his eyes went black and the grip tightened. "Calm the fuck down."

"Reid!" Caleb was standing with Pouge and Tyler, the two girlfriends gone. He looked to Reid and then to Marny. "You have ten minutes, we don't have time for this."

That phrase was beginning to grate on her nerves. _She _didn't have time for this.

"She's coming with us." Reid kept walking ignoring Caleb's outcry, Tyler and Pouge confused expression.

"Reid, think about what you're doing." Caleb caught up with him where Tyler's truck was parked.

"For god's sake Caleb, trust me for one fucking time in our lives, would you? She's coming."

"I'm not going anywhere, with any of you. I'm going home." Marny pulled at the grip again and curled her lip at Reid's warning glare.

"She doesn't even want to come, Reid." Tyler reasoned, taking in Marny's pleading look.

"It's kidnapping, Reid." Pouge's husky voice added.

"We have to go _now_." Caleb pushed. "Let her go."

Reid's eyes burned and turned black, the truck doors flying open, and the alarm exploding with noise.

"What the hell are you doing?" Caleb's voice pulsed with fury, Reid's eyes cleared.

"Damn. Guess she has to come now." He smirked and climbed into the backseat of the truck, pulling Marny behind him.

"Hell, Reid." Tyler jumped up into the driver's seat. Pouge looked uncertainly at Caleb's face before jumping into the front seat. Usually Reid rode front with Tyler, the fact that he had taken the back seat mildly surprised them all. They wanted to think they were surprised that he would be the one to expose them, but Caleb had been trying to tell him for years. Reid had always been the first to use.

Caleb pulled himself into the backseat next to Marny, but wouldn't look at her or Reid.

"Where are you taking me?" Marny questioned. Tyler looked at her from the rearview mirror, his hat off and kohl just barely smeared. Pouge looked at Caleb, Caleb glared at the back of Tyler's seat. "Do you all have power?"

Caleb made a sound between a growl and a sigh.

"And Garwin, for Christ sake you're hurting my wrist. I'm not going to climb over you or Caleb and attempt to fly out of the bloody flaming car."

"It's a truck." Tyler said insulted, his brows furrowed in the rearview mirror. Pouge snorted. Reid relaxed his hold but didn't move his hand. It felt warm on her bare skin, and she wished momentarily she could move closer…or at least have her jacket. She wasn't even sure where she had left it, and the cold October air was causing goose bumps even with the truck's heater.

Marny turned her gaze to Caleb, his gaze still fierce on the back of Tyler's seat. She placed her fingertips lightly on his forearm and used, her eyes turning white. Caleb turned to her quickly and looked at her confused.

"Sarah knows," she looked at Pouge- her voice distant. Tyler slammed on his breaks ten feet from the fence in front of the old Danvers' house. "But you haven't told Kate yet and she wonders. Sarah thinks you should, so does Caleb." Her white blank stare focused on Reid for a moment, confused, then moved back to Caleb. "Relax." Her eyes cleared in a flash.

"But it's always been the first and only son. There have never been any girls." Caleb didn't advert his gaze; Pouge and Tyler watched her as if she were foreign, something from another planet.

"Do you enjoy being looked at as if you're a freak?" Marny's smile disappeared and she glared, her chin pointed up in defense. She pulled her wrists quickly from Reid; he crossed his arms smugly across his chest, and she tried not to shiver at the loss of heat. Glancing at her wrist she checked her watch, "its 12:00 a.m. exactly. I have to be back at the dorms in an hour, or my roommate will lock my ass out."

"Fuck." Reid jumped out of the truck and looked to Tyler, "watch her."

Caleb double-checked his watch and looked at Marny once more before jumping down from his seat, Pouge followed him.

"He's ascending." Tyler explained. She tried very hard not to say, 'I know,' and watched as the three jogged their way into the old house. Tyler turned in his seat to look at her. "Caleb was first, back in August. The beginning of school."

"The fall formal right?" She questioned, "Madelyn went to the party that next weekend."

Tyler nodded, "And Pouge's was in September."

"When's yours?" She asked politely. She considered this humble on her part as he had technically assisted in her kidnapping. Not that under general or normal circumstances would she have minded being kidnapped by four of the hottest boys at Spenser- but the circumstances did scream creepy.

"Not until the middle of December."

"I'm a December baby too- the seventh," she smiled, "but I won't ascend. It's a long story." She explained evasively.

Tyler looked at the car radio; 12:03 a.m. was glowing green. "Happy birthday, Reid." The sky above them opened up, the black clouds hardly visible now swirling in the darkness as if a storm had brewed out of nothing to befit the night of Hallow's Eve. Licks of electricity white and blue penetrated the house.

Tyler and Marny watched in silence for the five minutes that they both knew was pure pain for Reid.

"Is he always such a brute?" Marny questioned, rubbing her wrist where the pressure would have caused bruises on a normal girl's wrist.

"He's generally just a smart ass." Tyler said helpfully, the love he felt for his would-be brother all to clear in his voice. It made Marny's stomach clench into sick knots. "He's change a lot since Chase."

"Who?" Marny asked with a perplexed look. Tyler opened his mouth to speak but seemed to think better of it.

"Why don't your eyes turn black?" Tyler questioned instead.

"The power is different in girls, I think. I can't compare it to anything, by all rights I am the first girl…I've done my history." One corner of her lip twisted up. "I can't just expel power, those power balls, like you can. But I see things, by touching them, by using. I heal faster. I can control people's emotions.

"_Being the Remembrance of Things Past and the Remembrance of Things to Come." _She whispered, staring off.

Her eyes flashed white, and she turned her gaze back to Tyler. He had a hard time looking at the ivory eyes- the contrast of ebony he usually saw mildly unnerved him.

"They're coming back. Caleb's angry again. Reid told him what happened in the Fortune Telling. No…Not everything- just me." Marny's eyes cleared, startling difference between the warm dark brown and the lack of any color.

Marny thought about using to knock Tyler out. Then her options would be to leave him outside for the other sons to find, and steal the truck; or to leave him in the Covenant's vehicle and walk…Either way she wasn't using with mortals anymore, these boys were just as powerful as she was and more so in some cases.

When Tyler jumped out of the car as the three others walked out of the fog, Marny followed his example and jumped out as well. She crossed her arms, holding tight to herself to stop the shivers the cold already wintry air was causing. Standing out in the air, her skirt swirled about her legs causing her to freeze and wish she had gone as a Rusian Gypsy, bundled.

To her surprise Reid pulled off his coat and handed it to her when they came close enough. He had his red favorite red hoody on and the cold wasn't bothering him after the power boost he had just gone through. He felt as if he had been reborn, new, his powers rejuvenated.

"Let's go inside. We can start a fire in the cellar. Gorman knows were coming. All of us." Caleb looked to Marny. Marny looked at her watch.

"It's fifteen after." She looked back up at the four different faces, all set. She grumbled, her teeth clenched and followed Celeb up to the house. She could feel the sorrow from him. Death lurked here, and it made her shiver. She looked around carefully, noting everything.

"Reid offered to drive you home after the meeting." Caleb looked to Reid silently, and Reid met his look stubbornly.

"Really? I didn't even know you had a car." Marny tilted her head as the walked up the stairs.

Pouge snorted, Tyler shook his head.

"It's in the barn." Reid didn't say anything more, and Marny put her concentration to walking down the narrow spiral staircase. Her insides were warring, one half felt the need to protect her from falling and wanted to reach out and clasp the old railing. The other half argued that it looked horribly unsanitary and anyway, it was old, it would likely fall.

The 'ew' side won out in the end, but she managed without tripping.

The cellar was slightly damp, and the book lover recoiled at the sight of the hundreds of years old tomes sitting openly on shelves. She wanted to wrap them in cotton and tell the boys to move them somewhere a little less dank so they wouldn't mildew.

_Not your books, not your problem_. She reminded herself. She held the dark coat closer to her body, and looked around hopefully for the fire, the stone slabs in the middle of the cellar made a circle and here Tyler used to cause them to come to flame.

Marny immediately took a seat next to the flames and looked up at the four boys.

"So…is this where you kill me and get rid of the body?" She was only half joking. Being exposed was a problem, knowing she could expose them put her life in danger.

Tyler laughed. Caleb smiled for the first time since Reid had pulled her up to them.

"We just want to understand." Caleb offered, lifting a hand in question and letting it fall to his side.

She smiled in a way that made Caleb think of a predator. Untamed and wild.

"I inherited it, from my father." She started. "Not to mean that I was born with powers, and my father willed his to me as well, don't mistake me. I was, after all born not only fatherless, but powerless.

"My Step-Father was a member of The Golden Dawn, in England. He was born to Thomas Taylor, and was Thomas' only son- of course. My father was banned from the Golden Dawn in his twenties for breaking to many of their rules. They told him he could die on his own away from their boundaries and not spoil their reputations. For good men," she smirked, "are members of the Golden Dawn.

"My father decided to tour American and met my mother while she was bartending in a run down rowdy Pub. They married and the three of us moved to England. He stopped using for her.

"He treated me like his real daughter, his own child, and when he was diagnosed with cancer we moved to Maryland. I attended MSA, he loved my art work.

"He was on his death bed; the chemo hadn't worked on him. He told my mother that he loved her- looked to me and said five words that changed my life. 'I will you my powers.' His eyes clouded over and he died peacefully. My mom decided she wanted me to get an education that would land me a job I could earn money at and enrolled me here my freshmen year of high school." She paused, her eyes showing her regret at leaving behind something she had enjoyed. "I won't ascend, because my power is already at its peak…Its different, I've noticed that just from reading my fathers books on his family history. I'm not sure if it will pass on if I ever have children, or if using will age me the same way. It's all up to chance in the end. My father told me when I was little 'you can never have magic without both men and women.' I guess giving me his power in the end was another poke at his father and the Golden Dawn."

**TBC**

**References::**

**1** "_Being the Remembrance of Things Past and the Remembrance of Things to Come." _The Necronomicon, Avon Books (1980)

**2** _No true magic without both men and women_. The Necronomicon, Avon Books (1980)


	3. All That I'm Living For

**Gifts and Curses**

**Chapter Two: **All That I'm Living For

All that I'm living for  
all that I'm dying for  
all that I can't ignore alone at night

I can feel the night beginning  
separate me from the living  
understanding me  
after all I've seen  
piecing every thought together  
find the words to make me better  
if I only knew how to pull myself apart

All that I'm living for  
all that I'm dying for  
all that I can't ignore alone at night  
all that I'm wanted for  
although I wanted more  
lock the last open door- my ghosts are gaining on me

I believe that dreams are sacred  
take my darkest fears and play them  
like a lullaby  
like a reason why  
like a play of my obsessions  
make me understand the lesson  
so I'll find myself  
so I wont be lost again

All that I'm living for  
all that I'm dying for  
all that I can't ignore alone at night  
all that I'm wanted for  
although I wanted more  
lock the last open door- my ghosts are gaining on me

Guess I thought I'd have to change the world  
to make you see me  
to be the one  
I could have run forever  
but how far would I have come  
without mourning your love?

All that I'm living for  
all that I'm dying for  
all that I can't ignore alone at night  
all that I'm wanted for  
although I wanted more  
lock the last open door- my ghosts are gaining on me

Should it hurt to love you?  
Should I feel like I do?  
Should I lock the last open door-  
My ghosts are gaining on me  
-_Evanescence_

Marny turned away from the sound coming from her bedside table, her alarm was blaring and she knew her roommate would already be up and gone to the showers. Her eyes flashed white and her alarm quieted as if she had pushed the snooze button.

Garwin had driven her to the dorms last night when she had finished telling them her story. Well, all she planned to tell them for now. He had driven a blue car, she had thought it was a classic, but she didn't know cars and she had been exhausted so she still had no real idea what kind of car he drove.

She had dreamed of him and didn't know what to think of it. In her dream he had been laughing one moment, holding on to a girl's hand- someone she didn't recognize as the girls back was turned to her. The next moment the girl was gone, Reid's hand empty but red and black with blood and something that made her think of ink. Thick and sticky and dark.

He had been looking at her then, accusations in his eyes. It made her stomach twist sickly.

Another boy had been in the dream, standing, watching, with a smile on his face. Sometimes his face had been clear and she had felt some recognition, but it was like seeing someone you hadn't seen since pre-school; others blurred like he was moving in a picture, or under rippling water. His eyes were always black. She had been afraid of him.

Then he had been gone, and Reid had been there again, his hands held out to her. She had been crying.

She stretched her arms up over her head, her eyes clenched tight against any and all sunlight that might have escaped the many boundaries of fall clouds, weather, windows, and blinds to make it into her room. She didn't do mornings very well when she had eight full hours of sleep, she did mornings like a damn evil bitch from hell when she had been up till three in the morning and had to wake up at 5:30 for school.

She reached out to the warm fur of Cian. He never showed in the dorm while her roommate was in. Cian was not your run of the mill ordinary pet. He was her guardian, had been since she had been given her powers. She had done the ritual just as her book had said, if she had messed up the engravings or one word of the chant it could have cause her guardian to come kill her instead of watch over her.

Guardians could look like three different beings; hers had the form of an abnormally large dog, or a wolf. He was white, and silver, and wore a brown leather collar with a silver charm hanging from it, meaning Guardian in ancient Sumerian.

She wondered vaguely why he was here in the dorms and not at her home watching over her mother. That had been her order to him. He was only supposed to show up when she was doing immense magic, to guide her.

"What are you doing here, love?" She scratched at his ear with one hand and pulled out her three silver necklaces with her other. On them she wore three silver charms; one was for the Guardian, the other for the Covenant, and the third for the Ancients.

She checked her watch, class was in a half-hour which meant if she left that moment she would have a ten minute shower and five minutes to get dressed and do her hair before rushing to class- Doable.

Cian's upper lip lifted in a snarl, a warning. _Oh_.

Of course she would have seen the note beside her alarm clock if she hadn't been so exhausted when she had made it to her room, using to unlock the door her roommate insisted on locking when she didn't make it by their own set curfew, or locking it just to annoy her.

Marny turned her head slowly to look at her table, a folded piece of black paper stood undisturbed. Silver wax welded the opening, the five pointed star engraved the seal, the signal of the Covenant, The Golden Dawn branch to be more exact.

She didn't touch it. Closed her eyes and counted to five, and when she opened them her eyes were white and the black note was burning into ash, its contents unknown.

Cian growled deeply. Marny ignored him, her eyes went back to brown, she pressed the charm at her neck between her fingers tightly; the points on the star signifying the Covenant biting into her flesh.

Cian jumped off of her bed and looked up at her, his thoughts on the matter very clear, before turning his head to the door at her roommates approach no doubt, and disappearing.

Marny looked at the ashes once more, her gaze cold and hard, before puffing out a breath to blow her bangs out of her eyes. She grabbed her watch, the towel that was hanging at the end of her bed, a brush, her toothbrush, and her uniform. She would just braid her hair again today- it was easiest that way.

She almost ran into him as she swung her door open to rush to the showers. His fist was raised to knock on her door; his eyebrow raised in what she could only figure was amusement.

A mixture of panic and embarrassment warred within her. She was in old pajamas, sweats torn at the knees and a black _Pink Floyd_ tee shirt that had seen much better days. She had bed head and had thrown it back into a messy bun, her makeup from the night before more than slightly smeared.

She tried to tell herself it didn't matter what she looked like to him.

He grinned and she wanted to snarl.

"What are you doing here?" She pushed past him, walking down the hall among other students that were going to be late to class due to excessive partying the night before.

"I was going to offer to walk you to class." Reid said innocently. He walked beside her, mildly amused at the faint blush on her pale cheeks. He noticed for the first time the three silver chains about her neck and reached out to run a fingertip over them.

She jumped and spun on her heel when his finger brushed over the back of her neck, her hand going to her necklaces. She clutched at the three charms through her shirt, glaring at him.

"I don't need anyone to walk me to class, thank you." She pushed a smile to her face and turned back to the bathrooms, her hand still clutched about the charms.

He thought it might have spooked her- that was the whole reason behind touching her. The same reason he liked to rent zombie movies to make Tyler queasy. But the flash in her eyes and the protectiveness that had come out over the necklaces had made him curious.

Caleb had asked him to keep an eye on her, Reid didn't know why, she didn't seem very threatening; and Chase, for all they could find, was either dead or very far away, so she wasn't in any danger. But Reid Garwin was a curious creature, that's why he figured he used so much; the power was a curious thing. So was this girl, curious that is.

When Marny came back out of the bathroom Reid was gone. She presumed he had gone to class, and looking down at her watch she cursed since she had only five minutes to make it before she was late as well.

"Where the hell did you disappear to last night Taylor?" Marny turned at her surname, a tall blonde called from down the hall. It was Madelyn, Marny's closest friend since moving to Ipswich. Madelyn was an artist; her father was a graphic designer and worked for companies like Pixar and Disney. He approved, unlike Marny's mother, of Madelyn's creative side. She could throw parties, dye her hair any colour she wanted. She was a 'free bird' as her father called her.

Currently she had the underside of her hair dyed black; she had to take her nose ring out while she was on campus grounds. A rainbow ribbon supporting gay-pride was pinned to her shoulder bag, and many different band and movie pins. Marny's favorite pin said, "Straight, not narrow."

Madelyn was quite the activist.

"Someone," Madelyn grinned as she linked arms with Marny, "said they saw you sneaking off with _all_ _four_ of the Ipswich boys. Slut." Madelyn giggled. Marny looked at her without humor.

"They practically kidnapped me."

"Lucky slut." Madelyn said playfully, her nails were red, orange and yellow today. The only part of herself she could make unique while at the school, and she took full advantage of it. Her nails were different everyday. Her room always smelled of nail polish, something her roommate complained of on a daily basis. "Don't spare any details, please. I've seen all four of them in those yummy Speedos and…" she shivered, "I have to stop there."

Marny stifled a laugh at her friend.

"Nothing happened. It was…A prank." Marny checked her watch, two minutes. She would either have to run, or be late to class.

"That's not how if happened in my eyes." Marny heaved a mixture between a sigh and a groan as her roommate, Kira, made her way towards them with a hall-pass, examining her perfect nails.

"Well, that's how it happened in the eyes of everyone with eyes." Marny barely held back the growl threatening to kick its way out of her mouth.

Kira's grin looked more like a snarl.

Madelyn smiled at her and tilted her head, lifting her middle finger in salute.

"Everyone is just dying to hear how you, who anyone even knows about because you room with me, got a ride home with all four of the _sons_. So very…scandalous." Kira wiggled her fingers goodbye to Marny and knocked her shoulder into Madelyn's. "Dyke." Kira snarled.

"Have a lovely day Kira." Madelyn blew her a kiss and pouted mockingly. "What misfortune to have her as a roommate. Who did you fuck over in another life? Oh, I know, you were either the guy that poked at Jesus with that spear, _or_ you were Judas. That's the only thing hellish enough I can think of to earn _her_."

"She and Abbot were put here to cause me misery, I'm sure." Marny looked to her friend, "you shouldn't let her get away with spreading those rumors."

"It doesn't bother me. So some people I thought were my friends don't speak to me now. I know who my real friends are," Madelyn grinned, "and I'm not even gay so what's to worry about. A girl would have to flat out look like Johnny Depp for me to bang her."

"This just proves how straight you are." Marny laughed.

"Right. But its girls like her that fucked up my brother's life in High school. Damn if I'm going to let it effect me." Madelyn smiled and Marny slapped her hand on her back.

She was fifteen minutes late to first hour, and it was worth it to hear Kira scream when she flushed the toilet and the water sprayed up all over her clothes.

It seemed as if the day would never end. She had three classes with Madelyn which was always fun, they were studying Women's Suffrage in Debate. Madelyn could argue in the affirmative and negative equally. Her views and arguments always earned her an "A" in the class; Marny usually partnered with her and was pulled through it. Where as in History Madelyn tailed Marny whose father had taught her well in the subject. They both were equal in Art, but excelled in different areas.

English she was on her own, however. Apart from Reid, Caleb, and Pouge who had never noticed her before the Halloween Party.

"Fancy seeing you here." Reid sprawled out in the seat next to her own, crossing his arms over each other on the desk and leaning on them.

"How charming. Use that line often?" Marny raised her brow at him before shuffling through her bag to pull out The Shinning.

"Saved it just for you." He joked. "So the rumor is that you left the party last night and didn't get in until three because you were having a sex affair with the Sons of Ipswich." He paused, laughter in his eyes, "and that you sleep with the host of the party, that's a lesbian apparently."

"You're happy with yourself aren't you?" She said amazed.

"It's my duty, as a total and utter bastard." Reid shrugged.

"Mr. Garwin, I love that you've decided to grace us with your presence, but please be quiet. Did you, dare I say it, even bring your book today?" The teacher looked annoyed, and amused both.

Reid grabbed Marny's book and held it up for the teacher to see, "Right here." He grinned, pleased to have outsmarted the teacher and sat the book back down unopened. Marny snatched it back and glared at him.

"Why are you even sitting here?" She whispered opening her book to where the class had left off. Reid leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.

"Apparently, you're not to be trusted." He grinned at her astonished look.

"Me? _I'm_ not to be trusted. Says he who kidnaps people from parties in the middle of the night." She was scribbling the notes on the Book in fury on her notebook paper.

"I could have my own King novel," Reid joked. "Caleb is slightly paranoid about anyone with powers." he clarified, leaning forward as the teacher's gaze lingered on him in a glare.

"That's ridiculous. If I said anything to anyone you could tell people about me."

Reid thought about this, and was sure it wasn't the reason she was to be watched but didn't say anything. He didn't always agree with Caleb, hell- it was a rare thing for him to agree with Caleb, but Caleb was his friend and if Caleb was right let it not be said that Reid had let them down.

Marny tried not to be distracted as Reid thrummed out beats on the desk with his fingers, obviously bored with the class.

"Does watching me entail bugging the hell out of me in my classes, or could you possibly do it from a couple rows away?" She asked sweetly after unsuccessfully trying to follow along for three pages as different classmates read.

"Mrs. Taylor, Mr. Garwin you've had your warnings. You can either inform the class what is so interesting that you can't wait until after class to discuss it, or go to the Provost office." The teacher waited for their answer.

Reid stood from his chair and held his arm out, his body in a half bow. "Ladies first, right?"

She looked from the teacher to Reid, shock plainly on her face before throwing her book and notes into her bag haphazardly and brushing past Reid to get to the stairs and the door to the hallway.

The teacher slammed the door shut behind them. And Marny turned to Reid with murder in her eyes.

"I'll show you the way." Reid stuck his hands in his pockets, obviously laughing at her.

"I don't find it even mildly amusing." Marny continued, following him down the hall.

"Everything will be fine." Reid assured her, walking backwards in front of her.

"Obviously your definition of 'fine' is quite different from mine." She snarled in response.

"He's just going to say, 'Mr. Garwin,' or, Ms. Taylor, in your case, 'this is the third time I've seen you this week, and I'm mildly disappointed. I know you enjoy these visits, but I really haven't the time. Contrary to popular belief, I do have work to do here.' And then he'll send you on your way. Actually," Reid looked to his watch, "That should put us right at the end of the school day depending on the line at the office."

"And I suppose, you being one of the 'Son's of Ipswich' couldn't possibly have an empty night." Marny mocked.

"Are you asking me out on a date, Taylor?" Reid's smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "I knew you'd come around." She pushed his arm off from where he had wrapped it around her shoulders and scowled at him.

"No. I'm shocked you don't have a girlfriend, you know. Those suave comments, the kidnapping, its all wasted on me."

Reid clutched at his heart, "You wound me," he mocked.

They walked into the office, the seats looked (and see knew they felt) uncomfortable. Reid sat in the chair closest to the exit, relaxed.

She sat in the chair next to him looking about the office. The secretary was bent over a pile of papers, talking on the phone and nodding her head every once in a while whispering 'yes'. Marny pulled out the book she was currently reading for fun.

Reid looked over in distaste.

"You've got to be fucking me."

The secretary looked up and scowled at Reid in warning.

"It's a good story." Marny's eyebrows drew together as she looked down at the book in her hand, 'Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.' She'd already read it, but she liked to re-read them after a while.

"You, of all people." Reid shook his head. "It's bullshit."

"So is Peter Pan, and it's a work of art. Plus, I think the key-word would be 'fiction'. If you don't like it, don't look at it." Marny made a face at him and turned back to her book. Reid leaned back in his seat.

The secretary switched lines and looked up at the both of them, "Provost Higgins will see you now, Mr. Garwin." She waved him on to the door on the other side of the office. "Is this your first offense for disrupting class, Ms. Taylor?" The secretary looked over at her.

"No…" She answered slowly; the women went back to her work on the desk. Marny's eyes went white, and she pushed into the women's memories. She saw Reid and herself walking through the office door, farther back watching a child drive off to college, a marriage…She pushed through them all, some sad, some anger-inducing, others joyful or peaceful.

Marny pulled out her favorites. The secretary as a young child, the memorie's colours faint but for what she remembered best- the pure crisp white snow, her bright red scarf, her younger brother's blue winter coat and the warm yellow of the old family dog's coat. They were building a snow man.

The next memory she pulled forward was of the secretary meeting her husband, everything was clear and bright, and radiated happiness. She pulled forth the couples first kiss, the engagement, the wedding, and the day they found out they were expecting.

She pulled a memory of skipping work to go with the child and the husband to the zoo.

Marny watched with eyes outside of the women's memories to see the smile of contentment, and happiness ease the wrinkles of stress. Even a bit of mischievousness crept into her grin.

The women looked up just missing Marny's pure white eyes.

"I'll just write a warning here. Why don't you skip the rest of period," she gave Marny a kind smile, "I know what it's like to risk trouble for a handsome boy." She gave a big wink and waved Marny out the exit.

Marny spared a smirk of pride and victory towards the Provost Office door before walking out of the office, with 15 minutes left of class she would go relax before meeting Madelyn outside in the gardens to work on their art project.

Her room was unsurprisingly empty, her bed still unmade, the ashes from the letter blown across her bedside table. She smeared the majority of the ashes into a piece of toilet paper and threw it in the bin, made her bed and flopped down onto it belly down.

_The boy was coming towards her, she thought she knew him but his face was shadowed. He had the mark of the Covenant, the five star pentagram tattooed onto the top of both of his hands in dark ink. She backed up from him, her back hitting something solid, when she turned she saw Reid, his hands on her shoulders._

_She tried to warn him about the other boy, but when she turned to point to him he was gone. Confused she looked to Reid, his face was coming closer to hers, and she closed her eyes…_

The knock on her bedroom door made her yelp. Disoriented she looked to her bedside table, her clock glowed four o'clock. She had fallen asleep for two hours, and she was sure that was Madelyn at the door ready to strangle her. Joy.

"Can I just say, 'worse best friend _ever_?'" Madelyn pushed her way into the room when Marny opened the door. Her arms were crossed over her chest, her face was set and she wasn't wearing her uniform which meant she had taken her time to stop at her room and change before venturing over to kill Marny.

"Sorry?" Marny ventured carefully, a half smile on her face. Madelyn's eyes narrowed. "I fell asleep."

"Well, since you were sleeping I suppose our failure will be worth it." Madelyn mocked moving to the bed. "Kira said you skipped last hour with Reid Garwin, of Ipswich Fame. Perhaps you know him?"

"Oh, I did not." Marny made her way to the bed where Madelyn was perched going through Marny's secret chocolate stash. "We got kicked out of American Literature because we were talking. It was ridiculous."

Madelyn grinned and patted the bed in invitation. "Talking to the hot-blonde-blue-eyed-hot-tempered-son-of-Ipswich enough to get kicked out of class? Do tell."

"Grey." Marny glanced over at Madelyn's perplexed look. "They're grey…His eyes. And nothing happened. He just wouldn't leave me alone."

"Oh, you _poor_ darling." Madelyn patted Marny on the back playfully. "It must be so difficult to be you sometimes."

Marny pushed her away and they both laughed.

"So, not to shock you, but your boy's attractive. Not that I'd attack him or anything, but I wouldn't leave me alone with him, either."

"Not interested, we're just friends-actually we're not even friends." But Marny thought of the dream, and her disappointment at being woken from it.

"Which is why you got kicked out of class, and baled on me last night causing you to catch up on your sleep and bale on me again today? Yeah. Not-even-just-a-friend. Right." She grabbed another piece of chocolate. "Oh, and there's another rave in the fields, back past the woods over past Marblehead. The Dells. We're going right? I mean, I don't think its even fair that I missed the back to school one, ya-know?"

"Ah. I remember the last rave we attended. I found you face down in a puddle wearing a pointy hat and singing a song about goblins."

"That was a Potter party. You know how I do so love those books. I can't be held responsible for my behavior when Harry Potter is involved. This is just a normal rave, hardly based around a bunch of super hot witch-boys." Marny shook her head in amusement, Madelyn was very wrong. The parties always involved at least four very hot witch-boys. "Pretty brave of whoever is planning it, ya-know? I mean last time that kid died. And that new kid Chase or Chaz or Charles or something went missing the night of Fall Fest." Madelyn put her head back on Marny's pillow. "And then you were kidnapped at the Halloween party." She laughed.

Marny was quiet, she chewed thoughtfully on a caramel filled dark chocolate.

"Well, I have work you know. Just tonight and Saturday night left- I called off tomorrow so we could have some fun. Love, love, love Fridays." Madelyn leaned over and gave Marny a smacking kiss on the cheek before jumping up and dancing her way to the door. Madelyn worked in the art department of the closest theatre.

"Hello, Love. Come on it, I was just leaving." Madelyn opened the door and Marny would have sworn she was just egging Kira on.

When Marny saw Reid however she jumped up from her bed, "Maddy, wait. Don't-"

Madelyn just winked and flounced out, shutting the door behind her.

"Isn't she the lesbian?" Reid asked, looking to the door where Madelyn had exited.

"Sure, if you believe everything Kira Snider says." Marny narrowed her eyes and dropped back onto her bed; she leaned back slightly on her elbows and looked up at Reid. He had changed out of his uniform and wore a white tee-shirt, the collar just slightly beat up and jeans. The sleeves of his hoody were pushed up to his elbows, black fingerless gloves present.

He pulled out the chair she had at her computer desk and sat down. She couldn't get over how he always looked so comfortable. She had seen him at the swim meets, calmly splayed in a seat in what she considered next to naked attire, he had looked comfortable when he had caught her using, when he was in the office in trouble.

She was annoyed she didn't have that grace and confidence.

"I don't suppose you would leave if I asked nicely?" She ventured.

"Would you ask nicely?" He shot back, his fingers tapping on the chair's arm.

"No." She paused. "What do you want?"

"I don't suppose it takes a lot of power to get out of detention?" It was phrased as a question, but she wasn't sure she wanted to answer.

"A bit." She turned her gaze away, the remains of the letter's ashes, smeared across her bedside table. "To get in, to go through all the memories, pull some of them forward and remain alert at the same time…It can be…exhausting. I've gotten faster at it. Why?" She turned her eyes back to his.

"We're all going to Nicky's tonight. I'm extending an invitation." He grinned and it didn't reach his eyes, she caught the evasion.

"'We' as in the Sons of Ipswich and their dates? It's Thursday, I've classes tomorrow."

"We all have." He shrugged. "If you're worried…"

"I'm not worried." She glared at him. "I just don't feel like going."

He grinned and leaned back in the chair, "then we'll just stay here."

"Great. Wait, no. _I _don't feel like going. _You're_ welcome to leave." She pushed herself up off her elbows.

"I can't. For all I know, you're an evil witch attempting to get into our good graces to steal our powers. And, since your show a couple hours ago that played on enough power to tip Caleb off to how strong you are?" He shrugged.

"Oh," Kira's face showed a moments confusion when she walked into the room, then a predatory gleam came to her eye. "I wasn't aware you had company, Taylor." She stepped farther into the room, closing the door behind her. She made a show of setting her books on her own desk, but her ears were straining for anything to use.

"I'll change then." Marny curled her lip at Reid's smug look. "I guess I'll see you in a couple of hours." She didn't phrase is as a question and looked pointedly at the door.

"You're welcome to stay, Garwin. Miranda's just being a bitch." Kira smiled politely at her roommate. Marny repressed the need to stick out her tongue. "She managed to grow up without manners."

Reid looked over at Kira and smiled back. "I would. But, you and Abbot get on my last fucking nerve." Reid took his time getting up and moving to the door, he looked to Marny, said, "See you at seven," and walked out the door, closing it silently behind him.

"Does Madelyn know your seeing someone else?" Kira said snidely, turning her back on Marny.

Marny took a deep breath and pictured the water in the ladies toilet bursting up all over Kira's uniform.

"You were right not to go in the first place you know." Kira was folding some of her clothes, placing them in her dresser or hanging them in her closet respectively.

"What?" Marny was mildly surprised; Kira seemed to be on her side. Marny had stopped paying much attention to anything that came out of the red head's mouth once Reid had left the room. She had started inwardly fretting over what to wear.

"He's way out of your league. One of the Sons of Ipswich? It's not going to work out. You're too…" She seemed to roll the thought over in her mind. "Naive."

Marny laughed and got off her bed. "Whatever you say Kira." She rummaged through her draws pulling out her most comfortable pair of jeans and an old plain black tee-shirt. A dark red pair of ballet flats would add colour, and matched her red button up blazer.

She played with the thought of wearing her hair up in a ribbon that would match but in the end kept her hair down. She didn't wear it down very often, as it was easier in a pony-tail, or a bun, or braids.

When she had found out that Kira was going to be her roommate for the year she had been afraid that she would be listening to a lot of pop or rap music, something main stream. By the end of the first week however she had found that if ever in her life someone held a gun to her head and asked her to say something kind about Kira Snider, if would be easy. The girl listened to a lot of different music, most that Marny could appreciate.

Right now she had on Led Zepplin, the track _Thank You_- one of Marny's favorites, on repeat.

Marny attempted to catch up on her reading for english, only taking in every other line as her gaze would stray to her clock on her table.

"Knock it off, Taylor. You're making _me_ nervous." Kira's voice was snide- she had reading to finish as well.

"What?" Marny looked up from her book innocently. Kira just glared at her and went back to her own homework. While the party life at Spenser was grand, you couldn't enjoy the parties if you were kicked out of school for failing. Thus, even the rich kids did homework.

An hour before she had to leave, Marny left her book open on her pillow to do her makeup. She was going to go for a darker brown eye-shadow and liner, and natural colour for the rest of her face. As she leaned in close to inspect her eyebrows she caught sight of something unexpected.

She just looked at it for a moment, not quite feeling shock (it wasn't the first), but more a foreboding. The solitary white hair stood out against the head full of dark hairs. She sorted through her hairs until she had the white one between her pointer finger and thumb and examined it more closely in the mirror before yanking hard and pulling it free.

**TBC**

**Authors Notes::**

First let me say 'thank you' to all the people who reviewed. You keep me writing. Next:

I debated with a few things in this chapter, Madelyn's actual presence for instance. I wondered if I should actually have her show up. In the end it turned out to be a Quote I read that settled it though I can't think of which one now, and the character herself I fell in love with once I started putting her together. She's so fun! Then of course she actually became important to the story line and how I wanted things to happen.

Another thing I debated was Kira as the roommate. I originally thought this a tacky idea, but I really didn't want to introduce another original character after just pulling out Madelyn. So, Kira became the roommate, and it fits I like to think. Though I very well may be biased.

Ah, and Reid. He is possibly the hardest character I've ever had to get into. I think he's a total oxymoron. Sweet and creepy, he starts fights with his friends but would die fighting for them, hardheaded. He's got wretched pickup lines, but he's so cute.

Sometimes I just don't know what to do with him. Forgive me, haha.

**References::**

**1)** It does in the eyes of everyone with eyes- Red Dwarf

**2)** It's my duty, as a total and utter bastard- Red Dwarf.

**3)** Your definition of 'fine' is obviously different from mine- Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

**4)** So, not to shock you, but your dad's attractive. Not that I'd attack him or anything, but I wouldn't leave me alone with him, either- My So Called Life

**5) **I found you face down in a puddle wearing a pointy hat and singing a song about goblins- Blackadder


	4. Conspiracy

**Gifts and Curses**

**Chapter Three: Conspiracy**

Please speak softly,  
For they will hear us,  
And they'll find out  
Why we don't trust them.

Speak up dear,  
Cause I cannot hear you.  
I need to know  
Why we don't trust them.

Explain to me  
This conspiracy against me, yeah.  
And tell me how  
I've lost my power, oh yeah.

Where can I turn,  
Cause I need something more.  
Surrounded my uncertainty,  
I'm so unsure.  
Tell me why  
I feel so alone.  
Cause I need to know,  
To whom do I owe.

Explain to me  
This conspiracy against me, yeah.  
And tell me how  
I've lost my power, oh yeah.

I though that we'd make it  
Because you said that we'd make it through.  
And when all security fails,  
We'd be there to help me through.

Explain to me  
This conspiracy against me, yeah.  
And tell me how  
I've lost my power.

(I've lost my power...)  
-_Paramore_

Marny was nervous the whole night and it seemed to be contagious. She hadn't said a word in the car all the way to Nicky's, despite Reid egging her on, she had been somewhere else. She thought maybe she would be able to distract herself once she was around Kate and Sarah, but Sarah seemed as suspicious of her as Caleb did and Kate seemed to pick up on the vibe. The two girls made _polite_ conversation with Marny and then moved away to dance with their respective boyfriends, leaving Marny at the table alone as Tyler and Reid had moved off to play pool.

She thought about leaving. Just getting up and slowly making her way out of the bar. This occurred to her not as running _away_ but as…well as running away towards something more comfortable. So she was sticking.

"See, I don't even know why you came." Kira sat down in the seat next to Marny, she had a soda glass in her hand and was sipping on it coyly while looking around the bar.

"I thought you had homework?" Marny looked over, she was happy for the company, even if she detested Kira at least she _knew_ her. At least she knew what to expect from her and could play back accordingly. With Kira she was just a normal teenage girl.

"I finished it." Kira sent a smirk to Marny, her curly red hair swaying with her movement. "I couldn't pass up the opportunity to mock your pathetic attempts to snag a Son. Besides, Aaron's going to be here."

"So I get to mock your pathetic attempts to snag an ass?" Marny shot back with a smile, lifting her soda in pleasure. Kira smiled at her politely and started to stand from her seat.

"I don't have to _try_. If you have breast you don't have to _try_ with Aaron, sweetie. You just have to walk by him." Kira lifted her soda in a toast and walked away towards the pool tables.

Marny glared, angry with herself. She couldn't even keep her teenage-enemy at the table she was sitting at. She was distracted and staring into the dark depths of her soda glass when Reid gracefully _plopped_ down in the seat Kira had vacated. Marny only jumped a little in surprise when the fries smothered in ketchup were placed beside her soda. She looked over at his amused face with narrowed eyes.

"Garwin." She greeted coldly.

"I'm celebrating." He replied cheerfully ignoring her icy look.

"Celebrating what?" She asked before she could stop herself. Her curiosity always got her into trouble and she had a feeling she didn't want to know.

He just grinned, pleased with himself, and shrugged. "Guys code, not to sound cliché but, if I told you I'd probably have to kill you." He picked up a french-fry and stuck it in his mouth.

"I scared off all of your friends." Marny said thoughtfully, looking down at the food. Reid shrugged.

"-And some of our enemies." He added half-helpfully, nodding his head towards Kira.

"Actually, I think she just won…" Marny mentally tallied their conversation, sipping thoughtfully on her soda.

"So what is our friend Aaron thinking about?" Reid lounged in his seat, one arm over the back of Marny's chair. _Were they conspirators_? She wondered. She arched an eyebrow in his direction.

"He's thinking about sex." Marny relaxed slightly, "Please, at least challenge me." She nodded in Abbot's direction, "He's always thinking about sex."

Reid laughed, tilted his head away from their corner. No doubt looking for someone else to mentally spy on.

"Alright, what is…" Reid seemed to change his mind, his eyes meeting Caleb's from across the bar. Marny's guard went up when he leaned closer to her, whispered in her ear, "What is Sarah thinking?"

Marny looked at him for a moment, thought about looking at the grey hair in her bathroom mirror, thought about intruding on someone's thoughts for her own pleasure, and finally thought about the dream that Madelyn had interrupted only that afternoon. Her eyes turned white and she bowed her head to the food in front of them.

"_Caleb doesn't like the new girl Reid is hanging out with. He wont go near her. Is she like Chase? I thought it was only boys-"_

"Alright, that was a complete waste." Reid interrupted, her eyes cleared as she looked up at him and made him think of those _Clear Eyes_ commercials- only instead of getting rid of the redness they cleared away the white so you could see the colour.

"Caleb's a dull influence on the girl, obviously." Marny said cheerily, sipping the last of her soda. "I should probably get out of here." She looked to her watch, "school in the morning and such."

"Sarah only sat here five minuets." Reid looked shocked.

"What?" She was confused. None of them had sat at the table very long. She didn't see anything odd about Sarah.

"Well, the dullness is _obviously_ contagious."

He was mocking her, she thought dryly. "Ha." She gathered her things, spared a glance over towards Kira, who had found Aaron, and was currently on the dance floor, and stood.

"Are you going to walk, or ask Kira for a ride?" He drummed his fingers on the table- she noticed he had started doing this since asending- not that he had been overly still before, but it was more noticeable now. She wondered if giving up magic was harder on him than he was letting on.

"I was hoping, since _you_ were the one that demanded I come here, that _you _would give me a ride." Her eyes narrowed down at him.

"Actually, I gave you a choice." He still looked completely comfortable. It was unnerving her since she was starting to believe he would actually make her walk.

"Fine. I'm sure Tyler will give me a ride." Reid just laughed, looked down at his fingernails. Marny briefly wondered if he had them done in a salon, and if he would be overly upset if she were to smash them in a door at some later date. "I'm missing a joke?" Her voice was dry and her eyes still narrowed.

"Tyler, is severely creeped out by you. I'm sure he would give you a ride, but he wouldn't enjoy it."

"I think your lying." Marny hoped he was lying.

Reid just shrugged his arm still over the back of the chair Marny had been sitting in.

"Then I guess I'm walking." She had only taken a step when she noticed Aaron walking towards her with Kira, she rolled her eyes and dropped back into her seat.

"You must be pretty great to keep Garwin away from the tables." Aaron sneered down at them, Kira just smirked. "If I had even noticed her I might have given it a shot myself. She's not your general type." Aaron gave Marny a look that made her feel like taking a scalding shower. Kira laughed.

"I'm hardly shocked you've taken an interest in my general type, Abbot, we've been keeping the tables open on your sexuality." Reid leaned forward in his seat, his elbows propping his weight up on the table, "I figured you were straight, that you and the doormat here were a real fucked up couple. Pouge and Tyler guessed a queer." He turned his head to the dance floor and yelled out, "Guess you win this one boys."

Marny watched the two boys watch each other, expecting Aaron to throw the first punch as his jaw was clenched and his hand tight around Kira's arm. She didn't move however, didn't look between Reid and Aaron, she just watched Aaron.

Nicky knocked the baseball bat against the counted twice and pointed it in their direction. Aaron nodded his head at him, and looked down to Reid with hatred.

"You'll get yours Garwin. Nicky wont always be around." And Aaron walked away, pulling Kira behind him.

"I'll drive you to the dorms." Reid's voice broke her from her thoughts. Her eyes had gone white with Abbot's threat. She looked to Reid now, her head tilted- not confused over Aaron's thoughts, his were predictable of an angry over-controlling teenage boy; but confused at her own thoughts, and her own lack of control of her powers.

"What?" He asked, pulling on his leather jacket. He only seemed vaguely interested.

"Nothing surprising, again." Marny half smiled and slid her own coat on.

Marny permitted the silence halfway to the dorms before speaking.

"Do you have any pets?"

Reid's brows furrowed for a moment, the first time she had ever seen him completely thrown off guard, and he looked at her. "Pets?"

"Yes. Do you have any?" She repeated. Marny felt the blush creep up her cheeks and cursed her pale complexion.

"No." He answered. "I'm never home. What about you? Have a cat at home named Crookshanks?"

She looked at him stunned. "You've read the Harry Potter books? Enough to memorize a character's cat?"

"You didn't answer the question." He evaded, as if all of his concentration was on keeping the car on the road.

"No, not a cat. I have a…dog. Named Cian."

"Original."

"Is it hard?" She looked over at him.

He started laughing.

She blushed, dark red this time.

"Giving up your magic I mean. All at once." He was still laughing. "Haha, Miranda made a sexual innuendo, lets giggle." This caused him to laugh harder. She glared out her window and crossed her arms over her chest.

It was raining outside, the start of another storm. She didn't feel completely comfortable in the classic car that looked like it should be in a show instead of on a road in the middle of a Massachusetts's storm. His laughter slowly quieted to the sound of the music coming from the radio in the dash, she recognized the song from the bar, _Funny Little Feeling_by Rock and Roll Soldiers. She had them on a mixed CD somewhere.

"You're lucky." He said finally, she could still hear the trace of humor in his voice, but even more there was the sound of anger, of regret.

Marny looked over to his profile, his face serious and shadowed- looking ahead. That little twist of guilt clutched at her, ripped at her, and she thought she might be ill.

"I'll walk you to your room."

She looked outside her window to notice the school, the dorm hall.

"An actual chivalrous act from Reid Garwin," she joked.

"I'm not opening your door." He commented back before sliding gracefully out of the car. _He's better suited to Madelyn_, she thought with a hint of jealousy for a moment.

He walked her to her room, watched her unlock the door and left with a smirk before she was all the way into the room. She stood in the threshold, one foot in and one out, silently wishing he had leaned towards her, and silently knowing she was already in far too much trouble.

She walked in, turned on her light by her bedside table, and noticed that Kira hadn't returned yet. Her homework was open on her bed, a quote glaring up from the page.

"For one human being to love another:  
that is perhaps the most difficult of our tasks;  
the ultimate, the last test and proof,  
the work for which all other work is but preparation.  
-Rainer Maria Rilke

Marny shut her textbook close and slid onto her bed. She had only met the guy yesterday- she not only _couldn't _be in love with him, but she really _couldn't_ be in love with him.

She heard the clapping of hands but didn't see the source. Someone, was in her room.

"Alright…why don't you come out and face me like a…thing." She said quietly. She wasn't really surprised, she had seen the note this morning, she was expecting someone.

Cian appeared at her side, his fur standing on end and a growl coming from deep within his throat.

Her eyes slid white, slowly as though she wasn't worried though the goose-pimples had started their rise along her arms. She only saw the man, perhaps ten years older, and he was invisible to everyone but her. His eyes were pitch, and his smile was quite pleased.

"Who are you and why should I care?" Marny asked testily, her hand resting on the top of Cian's head.

"Chase. Chase Collins." He sounded relaxed as if he wasn't invisible to people, as if he hadn't broken into her room, as if this was all normal- natural.

She knew him. The moment the recognition set in the fear set with it. She had sat next to him in Government- he was the first one she had been told to take careful notes on. Only he was much older looking now, and she had been told he was dead. And he had been the one from her dream, the face she knew but didn't recognize.

_Denn die Toten veiten schnell._

"Miranda, don't be rude." An ancient looking man stepped out of the small bathroom the room held. She didn't have to use to see him, she knew she would be able to see him with her naked eye, but she was unwilling to take her gaze from Chase who was still using to stay invisible; she was outnumbered.

"Mr. Collins, you'll use all of your energy with silly tricks such as that; then what use will you be to us?" Marny's grandfather looked to Chase, his eyes cleared and he became visible. Marny relaxed her own eyes- the white fading.

"I wondered if it were true- and how I could have missed you" His voice was guttural, or husky some girls would call it. It could have been attractive if Marny hadn't been so petrified by him. If Marny didn't know what he was capable of, what he had tried to do to the Son's of Ipswich.

"I've been hearing that a lot lately. That I'm easy to miss, that is." Marny looked from the boy to her father's father.

"You can send your guardian home; he's wasted here, why you even bothered to summon him when none have done so for centuries is beyond the whole Golden Dawn." Mr. Taylor looked distastefully down at the creature.

"I think he'll stay here all the same, thank you." Marny kept her voice carefully polite but determined.

"If you must." Mr. Taylor smiled kindly. "I've matters to discuss. Have you become closer to the Covenant of Silence?" He dusted her computer seat off with his hand before sitting in it. Reid had sat in that chair hours ago.

"Yes. Quite close." Marny confessed. The little twist in her stomach tightened and she ignored it.

"This is Chase Collins, by the way." Her grandfather motioned to the boy and she spared him another glance. He had a playful smile on his face and was sitting on Kira's bed comfortable. His comfort made her think of Reid yet again and she felt uneasy.

Her dream, of this Chase and Reid came to the surface of her mind. The blood and the thick ink like substance. She looked to the tops of his hands and noticed they were not tattooed- a warning than, that he had joined her Covenant.

"He broke a number of rules, Grandfather." She turned her attention to her grandfather.

"It's been forgiven." He waved a hand airily in dismissal. "He's one of ours now. You will, actually, be quite interested in his purpose with our Covenant as it has quite a lot to do with you and the deal put towards you."

"I've not forgotten. I'm here; I'm doing what you asked." Marny clenched her fist, her fear of the two men momentarily forgotten in her anger.

"Yes well, we couldn't have you marry just anybody. We have no idea yet how these powers are going to affect you in the long run, how they'll affect an heir. Mr. Collins generously agreed to marry you and give up his possible heir in return for a full pardon."

"I have no say in this?" Her voice raised an octave.

"Really, Miranda, you were given your choices. It was against _all_ rules for him to have given his powers to a son- for him to have given them to a non-blood relative, a female for that matter…If you do not comply with our wishes, you will be destroyed."

"The Covenant that holds the world together calls for opposites: the dark and the light, uniformity and chaos, bodied and disembodied." Marny quoted in her defense.

"Oh, do stop quoting that fool Gaimen at me. I've read his works. If you were meant, if females were meant, to have the power- you would have been granted it." Mr. Taylor stood from his seat and took a menacing step closer, he was tall and thinly built; the kind of man you could see in a suit and top hat, a cane in his hand, but she wasn't fooled by his physique. He was cold, and he was strong in his power.

Her eyes went white with power; Cian growled and stepped toward him again.

"Now, Miranda, don't do anything foolish. The Golden Dawn would hate to have to punish you again. I'm not sure your mother could take it." She ignored him, only expelled more of her power, to keep herself safe in a shimmering bubble. "The past tempts us, the present confuses us, and the future frightens us. No choice is simple, Miranda, and no one can know what the future holds."

"You obviously have never seen me at work." Chase was watching quietly from the side, not willing to step in, curious to see what the grandfather would do.

"You _will_ do what you're told." Mr. Taylor was very careful about using at his age; he had his power almost perfected, and always very much in control. "You will be sent orders by Monday, we've made a promise to Chase on the fate of the eldest son of the Covenant of Silence- and Miranda, my dear," his eyes burned black in a flash of fire and his power pushed into her own bubble, turning the glowing light towards her. She narrowed her brows and pushed against it urging her own power to be stronger in its way. "If you ever ignore one of our memos again, I'm afraid we'll have to replace you. And that would be such a waste. You really are a very interesting creature. We'd hate to see the only girl in the Covenant turn out to be a mistake made by a foolish dying man."

Marny sobbed out and pushed her energy towards the breaking point, it spurred past Taylor's before she fell to her knees, her eyes still white.

"Mr. Collins, I believe introductions are concluded, we'll show ourselves out Miranda." Her grandfather moved to her dorm door and stepped out.

"Rather rule in Hell than serve in Heaven, Chase?" Marny looked up quietly, her hand still clutched at the fur around Cian's neck, the silver charm on his leather collar digging into her palm and giving her just enough pain to keep her eyes focused.

"I'd say you're the villain in this comic, _Miranda_." He said the sentence sweetly and she could almost see what had caused Kate to swoon over him; he said her name mockingly, and brought all the shame she felt at betraying the Covenant of Silence to save herself to the surface. And he followed her grandfather out her dorm door.

Her eyes didn't just clear as they normally did. She couldn't see anything for a moment, as if the magic leaving her eyes had taken her sight with it. Then she felt horribly dizzy. She barely managed to get to the toilet in time to remove all semblance of food from the bar from her stomach.

"I wasn't the only one that got completely loaded then." Kira's voice said cheerfully from the toilet door. "I got that when you're done." She slid slowly to the floor and leaned her head against the cold porcelain of the sink.

Marny used the back of her hand to swipe the cold drip from her nose and pulled it away to see dark blood.

"Ew." Kira giggled cheerfully despite her obvious disgust at the nosebleed. Marny wasn't very pleased about it either. Kira slid towards the toilet when Marny stood uncertainly and moved to the sink to splash her face. "Never seen a drunk caused by being nosebleed." Kira said thoughtfully and shrugged. Marny half laughed pitifully.

"I'm nobody's doormat – am I?" Kira asked uncertainly. Staring down at the swirling water in the bowl of the toilet.

"If you had a middle name, it would be 'Welcome'." Marny said on a sigh. "But then, I wouldn't worry about it, I'd have that middle name too."

**TBC**

**Authors Notes::**

Thanks again for the reviews. It's been a while I know, but it came down to me writing or me passing Probability and Statistics…I really didn't want to have to take that class again, so I had to put aside anything remotely fun for the semester. That's over; I passed, on with the yummy Reid-ness.

I'm soooo ready for a chapter with a bit more of the physical but I'm trying to figure out how to do it and still fit it in…

Plus, this chapter was difficult to get going again after the break. I had already started it before putting it away, so I switched on my playlist for this story, and the Covenant on DVD and just tried to figure out where I was going. I wanted to stop and leave it at a clif-hanger so many times its absurd but I have other plans for the next chapter and therefore had to pull this one through.

Overall, I'm quite pleased. It actually started getting creepy there at the end. Mr. Taylor scares me…But, I don't think Marny was Mary-Sueish…She _was_ afraid and she _did_ try, but you know...Sometimes even when we think we're going to pull through we end up sucking.

Enough. I'm out, time to get working on the next chapter.

Tell me if you enjoyed it :

**References::**

**1)** "Alright…why don't you come out and face me like a…thing." -Buffy

**2)** "Who are you and why should I care?" –Futurama

**3)** 'Denn die Toten veiten schnell: The Dead Travel Fast' -Dracula

**4)** "The Covenant that holds the world together calls for opposites: the dark and the light, uniformity and chaos, bodied and disembodied." -Neil Gaimen, "The Books of Magic"

**5)** "The past tempts us, the present confuses us, and the future frightens us. No chose is simple and no one can know what the future holds." –Babylon Five

**6) **"Rather rule in Hell than serve in Heaven" –Milton

**7)** "I'm nobody's doormat – am I?"  
"If you had a middle name, it would be 'Welcome'"  
-Batman, "Harley and Ivy"


	5. By Myself

**Gifts and Curses**

**Chapter Four: By Myself**

What do I do to ignore them behind me?  
Do I follow my instincts blindly?  
Do I hide my pride / from these bad dreams  
And give in to sad thoughts that are maddening?  
Do I / sit here and try to stand it?  
Or do I / try to catch them red - handed?  
Do I trust some and get fooled by phoniness,  
Or do I trust nobody and live in loneliness?  
Because I can't hold on / when I'm stretched so thin  
I make the right moves but I'm lost within  
I put on my daily façade but then  
I just end up getting hurt again

by myself myself  
I ask why, but in my mind  
I find I can't rely on myself

myself  
I ask why, but in my mind  
I find I can't rely on myself

I can't hold on  
To what I want when I'm stretched so thin  
It's all too much to take in  
I can't hold on  
To anything watching everything spin  
With thoughts of failure sinking in

If I  
Turn my back I'm defenseless  
And to go blindly seems senseless  
If I hide my pride and let it all go on / then they'll  
Take from me 'till everything is gone  
If I let them go I'll be outdone  
But if I try to catch them I'll be outrun  
If I'm killed by the questions like a cancer  
Then I'll be buried in the silence of the answer

by myself  
myself  
I ask why, but in my mind  
I find I can't rely on myself  
myself  
I ask why, but in my mind  
I find I can't rely on myself

I can't hold on  
To what I want when I'm stretched so thin  
It's all too much to take in  
I can't hold on  
To anything watching everything spin  
With thoughts of failure sinking in

How do you think / I've lost so much  
I'm so afraid / I'm out of touch  
How do you expect / I will know what to do  
When all I know / Is what you tell me to  
Don't you (know)  
I can't tell you how to make it (go)  
No matter what I do, how hard I (try)  
I can't seem to convince myself (why)  
I'm stuck on the outside

How do you think / I've lost so much  
I'm so afraid / I'm out of touch  
How do you expect / I will know what to do  
When all I know / Is what you tell me to  
Don't you (know)  
I can't tell you how to make it (go)  
No matter what I do, how hard I (try)  
I can't seem to convince myself (why)  
I'm stuck on the outside

I can't hold on  
To what I want when I'm stretched so thin  
It's all too much to take in  
I can't hold on  
To anything watching everything spin  
With thoughts of failure sinking in

I can't hold on  
To what I want when I'm stretched so thin  
It's all too much to take in  
I can't hold on  
To anything watching everything spin  
With thoughts of failure sinking...  
-_Linkin Park_

"Party tonight, don't forget." Madelyn reminded Marny with a smile. She _had_ forgotten, of course, after last night. She hadn't been able to sleep after her grandfather (and Chase, her would be fiancée) had shown up.

Madelyn glared at Marny's blank expression. "You forgot." She said evenly.

"Sort of. I didn't forget about the party on Friday night, I just forgot that today was Friday…" She had given up on sleeping and had gotten out of bed early to grab a shower before anyone else was up and moving. She had run into Madelyn after, who had been in the library making copies of her speech for argumentation. The two were now walking to their first hour together without rushing

Madelyn shook her head and rolled her eyes. "How can you forget that it's Friday? It's the day before the best day of the week."

"I didn't sleep well last night." Marny excused.

"Oh that's right. Didn't I hear something about you and a certain Reid Garwin hitting the local hotspot for kids our age? I suppose you _didn't_ get much sleep last night." Madelyn rubbed shoulders with her friend and ignored the sour look she received.

"I've got to go to my house after classes today. I got a phone call from my grandfather last night and I need to talk to my mom about it. Plus the outfit I'm planning on wearing is there." Marny looked down the hall instead of at her friend.

"That's so unfair." Madelyn scrunched her nose. "I'm going to be going through my entire closet, and my roomies closet, to find something to wear and not only are you not going to be there to tell me that my roommates burgundy halter-top looks great with my black skinny jeans, but you already know what you're going to wear."

Marny looked at Madelyn with wide eyes and drawn brows.

"It is November in Massachusetts, and you want to wear a halter-top? Are you insane?"

"My sanity is not the point. The point is how great that halter is going to look with my complexion. I'll wear a sweater, _mom_." Madelyn joked kindly before placing her hand on her friend's forehead. "You doing okay? You look a little…ick." Marny forced a smile to her face and pushed the hand away.

"I'm fine. See you in class?" Madelyn smiled back and waved before heading to the English hall where she took a Writing class. Marny walked into her Calculus room. It was relatively empty so she headed to the back. She tried to sit in the front most days, math wasn't her best subject, and sitting close to the teacher helped her to pay attention. She knew it wasn't going to help today. Nothing would.

The class filled and she was glad for the fact that she didn't really talk to anyone in this class, it was the only time of the day she had to herself. No Covenant boys, no best friend, no creepy grandparents or evil-confused roommate. The formulas began to flow together and she drifted off.

"The Tower," she stopped and ran her fingers across the card surface gently, mildly unnerved, her wig was tickling her cheek. "Is a problem card. It is the end, it is death, and it is destruction." She paused again, fingers resting on the darkest card of the deck, its picture twisted, a tower without windows, storms brewing behind, intruding. A warning. Reid watched her across the table. It was familiar and foggy. She tried to place it. He looked detached, angry. At her? The wig brushed at her cheek again, and she pushed it away. A spider came away on her hand.

She brushed it away, panicked. Another one, the whole wig was long legged black spiders and sticky webs drawn together like an elaborate piece of art through her hair. She brushed at them frantically, pushing her seat back and standing.

"Reid, help." She asked attempting to pull the spiders twined web out of her hair. Spiders fell from her hands and head to her shoulders, down her chest, to her shoes, constantly spinning sticky thin webs.

"I have learned to hate all traitors." Reid said quietly, he leaned back in his chair, watching her, before standing and leaving the room.

Tears leaked from her eyes and she pushed at them in fury, more spiders crawled over her hands and her tears were black, sticky, poisoned.

"Ms. Taylor."

Marny woke in her calculus class, most of the students had left, a few waited looking at her; some hiding their smiles with their hands, others with worried looks. Her hands were still raised to her hair to swat at imagined spiders.

Ms. White, her calculus teacher was leaning over her, a worried expression on her ancient face.

"Perhaps you should see the nurse. You've never fallen asleep in class, dear, and you're crying. I've never seen anyone so pale.

"No." Marny gathered her books quickly. "No, I'm just a little stressed is all. Thank you, Ms. White, sorry…Sorry." Marny rushed her next class, hoping to avoid the glances of the left over classmates and her teacher.

Government only reminded her of Chase.

"It's not fair." She said aloud, not paying attention as students filled the room and pulled out their books. It really wasn't fair. Her father had given her this gift, this curse, she hadn't asked for it. Chase had just be handed it at birth, and then it had been doubled by his father (which broke the same rule her father had broken- and she really thought it shouldn't be held against her father, she hadn't had the power to begin with so it wasn't doubling hers, and her father had been dying of a disease). Chase had held innocent people hostage, killed at least three people, cursed a handful, caused a motorcycle accident, and would have killed more to triple his power.

But he was forgiven.

And she was imprisoned.

"Think how much worse it would be if life was fair, and all the awful things that happened to us happened because we actually deserve them. I for one take great comfort in the completely impersonal hostility of the universe."

Marny looked over at Reid dryly. "When did you even get here." She questioned, pulling out her textbook.

"Right around the moment you started whining to yourself." He answered. His textbook was in front of him, but she noticed he didn't carry a bag, or any other books.

"Isn't Tyler in this class? Can't you sit with him and stalk me?"

"The way you're using I don't really have to follow you to keep an eye on you. You tipped all four of us off last night with your power show."

"Kudos for me." Marny said sarcastically, looking away.

"That was a lot of power, considering you claim not to have anymore than someone who has asended."

"Caleb…" Marny looked up from her book to see Caleb's unfriendly expression. Reid leaned back in his chair, she was beginning to find tells in Reid's movements, and this one was annoyance. His body looked relax but he had an expression on his face that he reserved for Caleb's benefit, the "you're-not-the-leader-I-can-handle-this-get-out-of-my-face" look. She thought of her dream, of Reid leaned back in his seat across from her, and the spiders making their way around her body.

"I don't have to explain myself to you Caleb. I'm not part of your Covenant." Marny whispered the words, glancing up at him through her lashes. "This isn't the time for the conversation."

"After classes then." Caleb turned to walk away and Marny gave a real smile for the first time all day.

"I'm afraid I can't. I'm going home straight after classes."

Caleb saw through her escape and opened his mouth to say so when the teacher called on him, "Mr. Danvers, class is about to start, take a seat please."

Reid didn't speak to her for the rest of class. She contemplated entering his or Caleb's mind, to see what conclusions they were coming to, but she knew that members of her grandfather's covenant had noticed when she entered their thoughts, even if they didn't realize it was her or her power, they knew someone was in there.

She managed to hold a conversation with Madelyn during history and art about trivial things like their debate in argument, and what Madelyn was thinking about wearing to the party. In argument she gave her speech and it was a relief to focus on something else, something completely normal and expected.

Reid still sat next to her in American Literature but his silence was unnerving considering this was the point the previous day when she had been sent out of class for talking with him. No witty comments or not so suave liners. At one point she thought he was asleep.

After class she went straight to her room, focused on dropping off her bag and grabbing her keys to get home. Kira was folding clothes at her bed, looking at each shirt against a pair of ripped jeans lying on her bed.

"Oh, hey." Marny said, pausing momentarily before walking to her own bedside table. "Are you going to that party tonight?"

Kira turned and looked at her, brow arched and head tilted. "Last night wasn't a bonding moment, Taylor." And she went back to folding her clothes. Marny rolled her eyes and grabbed her keys.

She loved her car. It wasn't anything shiny or new like most of the cars the kids on campus had, there was a dent in the passenger side door and a few scratches in the off-silver paint; it didn't have a CD player, but she could still play her iPod. She loved it because it was completely hers. She had worked full time all summer her sophomore year to buy it.

The hour drive home was relaxing; farm land passed by on both sides and the traffic wasn't very heavy. She had almost forgotten about everything the last 24 hours had produced until she pulled into her driveway. The house was much smaller than any of the Son's homes. The parlor was more of a living room; the library had been a bedroom. It was two floors, three bed rooms, 2.5 baths. Her mom had insisted they hadn't needed anything big, and with the two of them they really didn't.

Her mom was standing in the front of the window, watching her pull up the drive, behind the curtains. Marny took her time getting out of the car. Turned off the heat, then the radio, put her iPod away, and finally pulled the keys out of the ignition and pushed them into her pocket.

Her mother held the door open for her when she stepped up to it, and waited until it was closed to speak.

"You're grandfather sent me a message this morning. Apparently you're engaged. Why didn't you call me last night?"

"I thought it might be one of those conversations that work out better to one's face, you know, 'Oh mom, by the way I'm getting married to a creep.' It was really a surprise for me too." Marny spoke carefully, walking to the back of their house to the kitchen.

"I know you think part of this is my fault. That if we would have stayed in Maryland none of this would be happening, but they still would have found us, still would have used you. I can't fight them, Miranda." Marny looked to her mother. They really only had the same pale complexion, her mother's hair was straight and a few shades lighter, her eyes a dark blue. Marny laughed quietly, shook her head as she turned her attention to the food in the refrigerator. All health food, her mom hadn't eaten heart-attack inducing food since she had started working as a waitress upon Miranda's birth. Her step-father was the one that would sneak her out for a cheeseburger.

Marny grabbed an apple out of the vegetable crisper and looked again at her mother's worried face. The once crinkled laugh lines now looked saggy and turned down in sorrow and fear. Marny put forth a pleasant smile hoping to deflect some of her mother's worry.

"I'll be fine. It's not your fault, they would have found us." She walked toward the stairs, her insides warring.

"How are things going with the Covenant?" Her mother tried, following her daughter to the banister, "Are you still following them for your grandfather?" Marny laughed, louder this time.

"I hardly have to." She glanced to the top floor longingly, fearing what message would be waiting for her from the Golden Dawn come Monday. She was distracted by something small and off coloured from the hard wood floor moving a step in front of her.

She stepped on the spider with a grimace. Recently, she had developed distaste for arachnids.

"I'm going out with Madelyn tonight. To the Dells."

Motherly disapproval replaced worry. "I'm not sure I like her. She's very…odd." Now Marny was being followed up to her room.

"Well, as I haven't much choice in how most of my life is lived, I think I'll decide on which friends I have…you know, at least." Marny sighed inwardly once she was behind the threshold of her room; Cian was on her bed, his huge head resting on his paws, his abnormally human-like grey eyes watching both women.

"I'll be down in a while, mom." Marny closed the door behind her, shutting the world out. The best part of her room, in Marny's opinion, was its private bathroom- equipped with not only dorm room style toilet and sink, but also home style shower slash bath. She had painted her room herself, much to her mother's disappointment. The bathroom was in a very light teal and turquoise, out of paranoia she had a clear shower curtain.

One of her walls was painted in chalkboard paint; one was in a deep wine-red, the other two in a soft light-green. Nothing in her room matched, her bed frame was silver, she had an assortment of mix-matched chairs and a futon, paintings and artwork dominated her walls. Knick-knacks cluttered her desks, photos were tapped up or framed or stuffed in albums on her many bookshelves.

It was her own.

She took her time in the shower, trying to forget the previous night for a moment. Cian stood watch at the bathroom door, not making a noise and standing like a statue.

She hadn't been lying earlier in the day when she had told Madelyn she already knew what she was wearing. Absolutely no halter-top. She had a silvery-dark blue long-sleeved button up shirt that was dressy but could be toned down with her favorite jeans and her converse high-tops. The dark blue looked good with her dark hair and cold complexion. She even took the time to curl her hair and blow out her bangs. Really, she hadn't put this much effort into her appearance since the Halloween party and she had been in costume then- though, now that she thought about it that had only been two? Three nights ago?

She was looking at her reflection, pleased, when Cian growled and she heard her mother's voice call up the stairs. "Miranda, you have company."

She glanced at her watch confused. It was to early just yet, and Madelyn knew she would drive there herself; she wouldn't have come looking for her.

The emotions that flitted across her face when she walked down the stairs to see who it was slightly alarmed her mother. Shock, anger, embarrassment, confusion, and then slightly pleased. Cian followed closely at her heels.

"I suppose you have an excellent excuse as to why you're here?" Marny's eyebrow arched.

"To take you to the party." Reid said comfortably, his hands were in his pockets but she could tell he wore his fingerless gloves; the sleeves of his grey shirt were pushed up to his elbows- she knew that on his left forearm was a tattoo that would be visible to her if she were standing behind him.

"It's always nice to be introduced to one of Marny's friends." Mrs. Taylor hinted pleasantly. Marny noticed she had a dishtowel in her hands that she was wringing nervously, contradicting her voice.

"This is Reid Garwin. Reid, this is my mother, Rose Taylor." Marny motioned to her mother. Neither of them moved towards each other.

"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Taylor." Reid's hands stayed within his pockets. Marny's mother's hands tightened around her dishtowel and she looked at her daughter.

"May I speak to in the kitchen please, Marny." Her mother spared a smile toward Reid before walking into the kitchen. Marny took a deep breath.

"You might as well take a seat." Marny spoke to Reid and motioned towards the cushioned chairs through the living room's open door before walking into the kitchen.

"Isn't he one of the Covenant boys?" Her mother was pacing in front of the sink; warm water filled one side, a layer of foamy bubbles on top. The other side of the sink had a few stove top dishes and a plate. A glass was drying in the drainer next to the sink, water dripping.

"Yes." Marny answered, her whole body was tense. She hadn't told her mother everything her grandfather had asked her to do over the four years since her father had died; she doubted her grandfather had told her mother everything either. She was almost positive he had left out how he planned for Marny to lead the eldest of the four Covenant boys to his death in his talk with her the previous night. Marny focused, her eyes turning white, to place a barrier around the room that would warn her if Reid was trying to get in, or if anyone started listening in.

"Is that wise? To befriend them? If your grandfather found out…" Marny wasn't sure her mother was still speaking to her, or if she was just running all the scenarios in her mind.

"Grandfather knows." Marny offered, quietly and as detached as she could manage. Her mother stopped pacing and looked at her daughter.

"My god, you've fallen in love with that boy haven't you?" Her mother's voice was quiet, broken. Marny's white eyes looked away, her palms itched. "Your grandfather doesn't know about that." Marny shook her head, 'no'. Her mother pushed her hair back and turned to the sink.

"He doesn't feel for me." Marny accepted, pushed it forward so that she wouldn't have false hope. "And even if he did, he would hate me come next week."

"Why? You can't tell him about your grandfather- they could kill you. Very possibly both would want you dead." Her mother stepped toward her.

"Because, grandfather wants me to hurt them. And they already suspect something of me. They'll know it was me, that I had a hand in it, and he'll hate me." Marny's head started to hurt. Her mother looked at her, pity and helplessness on her face.

"Marny, it will be hard, but you must do what your grandfather asks of you. He's protecting you, in his way, from The Golden Dawn." She put her hands on her daughter's shoulders, wanting to look her in the eyes but unable to stand the emptiness she would find there. "Having your heart broken…It is a curious sensation: the sort of pain that goes mercifully beyond our powers of feeling. When your heart is broken, your boats are burned. Nothing matters anymore. It is the end of happiness and the beginning of peace. It will be easier for you to marry Chase once that boy in there hates you."

Marny looked up at her mother, trying not to be disgusted with her mother's defense of her grandfather, trying not to hate her for not knowing what her grandfather was asking her to do.

Marny's eyes cleared and she smiled uneasily at her mother. "I should probably be going. It'll take two hours to get to the party from here." Her mother stood in the kitchen and watched her go.

When she walked into the living room to find Reid she also found Cian who had gone missing when she had followed her mother into the kitchen. Reid was leaning against the fireplace mantle and Cian was sitting regally two feet away, both of them eyeing each other defensively.

They both looked at her when she laughed.

"_That_ is no dog." Reid moved towards her, Cian's head following the movement.

"He's a guardian." Marny admitted.

"Quite a collection." He pointed to her books; she _did _have a decent collection. All of H.P. Lovecrafts books, as well as many of Crowley's including _'A Book of Four,' 'The Book of Thoth,' _and _'Magick.' _These books had belonged to her father, she kept most of her own books in her room. "Your nose is bleeding." Reid pointed out. Marny blanched, embarrassment flooding her face with heat. She covered it with the back of her hand and left the living room for the bathroom. When she returned Reid was waiting in the entry way; her mother, having finished the dishes, was there as well waiting uncomfortably with Cian at her side, for them to leave.

"I might stay with Madelyn tonight," Marny informed her, "and come back for my car tomorrow." Really, it was better that Reid had come, it gave her an excuse to spend time at Madelyn's house; her best friends house made her think of her family before her father's death. _Almost_ normal- just right.

Reid didn't open the car door for her, but she didn't expect him to. The top was down on the '55 Chevrolet; she had done her research and found out what the classic was called.

"Did Caleb send you?" Marny questioned once the car had pulled out of the driveway. Reid's hands tightened on the steering wheel.

"You're not going to ask how I knew where you lived?"

"You're part of the Covenant. I doubt you needed the yellow pages to find out where I live." Marny noticed the avoidance of her question.

"Your lesbian friend told me." Reid smirked, pleased to have outmaneuvered Marny. Marny didn't know whether she was going to strangle Madelyn when she saw her, or hug her. Both seemed equally tempting.

Marny sat quiet for fifteen minuets, watching the scenery pass and listening to the radio.

"Have you lied about how much power you have?" Reid kept his eyes on the road, and Marny noticed for the first time they were going thirty miles over the speed limit. She didn't worry about being stopped by a police officer – both of them could easily get out of a ticket, or chase. She did wonder that the car could go so fast – but then she didn't know much about cars, even with her research.

She focused her attention on the question. Should she lie? Tell the Covenant she did have more than the power of one person?

"No." She turned her gaze back out the window, hoping that would be the last of the questions. Knowing it couldn't be. Reid's hands tightened again on the steering wheel.

The silence didn't last.

"Are you going to explain the amount of power coming from your bedroom last night?"

Marny focused on the fact that at the speed they were going they would be at the party in thirty minuets.

"No." Marny said carefully. "I can't." Her body pushed against the seat and she made an "oomph" sound, her head spinning at the sudden stop of scenery that had moments ago been whirling by. Reid wasn't in the seat next to her but the car was still running, "Hurt" by Johnny Cash crooning from the radio.

Her car door flew open, her seat belt unsnapped and she saw Reid, his eyes black for the first time she had seen since Halloween, standing outside her door.

"What are you doing?" Marny pressed the pulp of her palm to the side of her head to still it. "Are you trying to kill us? Or just kill yourself?" She pointed to his darkened eyes. When she felt the pull of her body leaving the car her eyes flashed white to stop him. She moved slowly, annoyed, and her eyes on his as she checked to make sure she hadn't hurt her knee when it slammed into the dashboard; when she was fully out the car door shut behind her.

"You _can't_ tell me why enough power for two asended came from your room last night?" Reid didn't move towards her, but his eyes stayed black.

"No." Marny repeated.

"You can't, or you _won't_?" He specified.

"I can't. I can't tell you why that much power came from my room." Marny looked away from him. She wished she would have declined his ride, or told him to get out of her house instead of introducing him to her mother. She wished her grandfather, and Chase, and everyone else that kept a fist over her future would just die.

Reid moved closer to her, she took a step back and met the car. He still looked furious; his eyes still beamed black – so different from their usual colour. For the first time she noticed he didn't look comfortable, didn't look graceful. She thought he might attack her. That he might knock her out and she would wake up in that old house's basement. They would torture her and find out everything.

"Did you know about us before the Halloween party?" Reid was standing right in front of her now, his face inches away. She thought again of lying, but she was sick of it now. Of always making lies and excuses.

"Yes. She said carefully, her white eyes meeting his black ones. "But I wasn't planning on meeting you exactly when and how I did-"

Then his lips were pressed hard against hers, she had to lean both hands against the car's door to keep from falling against it; one of his hands fisted almost violently in the hair at the back of her neck, the other was surprisingly light against her face. The fingers at her face fanned out over her right check, his thumb ran across the ridge of her chin and pressed lightly, tilting her head.

She stopped thinking. She stopped worrying. Her eyes closed and she let him deepen the kiss. One of her hands flittered of its own accord to his cheek, his brow, and then settled at the hollow where neck meets shoulder.

He smelled of limes, and black pepper up close and something that made her think of a large house or an old bookstore – comforting and ageless. Safe.

The hand at her neck loosened from her curls and moved to her shoulder, down her arm, and wrapped around her wrist. She imagined he could feel the rush of her pulse there, jumping.

When he pulled away she took a deep breath and opened her eyes. His eyes were grey, quiet and guarded. She knew hers were wide, and no longer white. And then thoughts started back into the forefront of her mind, and she felt sick. She moved clumsily to get back into the car, her cheeks felt on fire.

"We have to go – Madelyn is going to be waiting for me." Marny looked around at the now deeply dark sky, somehow she had missed twilight.

Reid got into the car and pulled back onto the road. She wondered what he thought about her – knowing who they were; she wondered if he was remembering how she acted that first night, like they were kidnapping her, like she was confused. She hoped he did. She thought it didn't matter anymore, she didn't want to care.

Five minutes and they would be parking; she could hear the music through the trees.

"It was my grandfather." Marny admitted. Reid parked before looking at her. "In the room with me, it was my father's father. You wouldn't have seen him leave." And then she opened the door and stepped out, walking towards the fires and dancing and music.

**TBC**

**Authors Notes::**

The end is my favorite part of the chapter, and I'm almost positive my favorite part of the story period. It took so long for me to figure this chapter out- and then I wasn't even going to have the next chapter, it was going to be part of this chapter, and then things got out of hand length wise so I moved it. Which means that the next chapter is almost finished. Dance with me.

This chapter was hell, just so you know. It seemed like forever writing it, and at first I had no idea how I was going to pull off that last part naturally. I was half asleep and it came to me, and I have to say I'm thrilled with it. Hope you feel the same way.

Plus, don't hate Rose. I personally feel really bad for the lady. She wants so bad to protect her daughter, and for her daughter to have what she didn't- but the women doesn't have any nifty powers to defend her from the evil grandpa.

Thanks thank thanks for all the support. I really love reading what you guys have to say about the story so far, and what you think may happen. Everyone who has reviewed is completely awesome, you guys keep me writing. Well, you guys, and Reid and Marny. I've become quite attached.

And I'm beginning to wonder if I'm going to have to add an alternative ending…

**References::**

**1)** "I have learned to hate all traitors." -Aeschylus

**2)** "Think how much worse it would be if life was fair, and all the awful things that happened to us happened because we actually deserve them. I for one take great comfort in the completely impersonal hostility of the universe." –Babylon Five

**3) **It is a curious sensation: the sort of pain that goes mercifully beyond our powers of feeling. When your heart is broken, your boats are burned. Nothing matters anymore. It is the end of happiness and the beginning of peace. –George Bernard Shaw


	6. City Noise

**Gifts and Curses**

**Chapter Five: City Noise**

Another crowded dance floor  
Another empty glass  
Another failed hello  
It's your alibi  
Another splendid lie  
It's the bruises that you can't show

It's another lonely sunset  
Another starless sky  
The nervousness inside  
It's the final kiss from a lover's fist  
It's the reason that you can't cry

It's a violent reaction  
The mixtape in your heart  
The answer you should know  
How we complicate, a simple mistake  
It's the face you make when I go

And we tried to change  
The city noise made us strange  
So we plugged our ears and learned to fight  
We set the stage but we could not engage so we cut all ties by candlelight

Another deep depression  
The calm before the storm  
The shaking in your head  
How you sacrificed – how you paid the price  
All the words you wish you had said

It's the rawest of emotions  
Drinking to forget – names written in the snow  
It's the anxious feel – purging your last meal  
It's the secret that you can't know

And we tried to change  
The city noise made us strange  
So we plugged our ears and learned to fight  
We set the stage but we could not engage so we cut all ties by candlelight  
-_Scarling_

She knew that Reid would go meet up with his brothers. That he would tell them everything. Almost everything.

More people would show up through the night, and there was a decent number of students gathered around the table the DJs set up, and there were metal tins and cans full of flame already.

Marny sent a text to Madelyn, telling her to meet her at the tree painted with an 'X' - a popular spot for people who lost their rides, or were meeting someone else.

"Feeling better?" Madelyn asked when she walked up to the tree five minuets later. Her head was tilted to one side, a half smile played on her lips. Her long straight hair was different, no longer was it bleached blonde sporting black underneath, but was a warm shade of blonde with deep dark red highlights, still different in an almost natural way. Her hair was half up in a supposed to look mused sort of way, the halter-top she had been speaking of almost matched the new highlights in her hair; she had matched it with black skinny jeans and silver accessories- a thick silver belt, metallic silver converse, silver earrings and bracelets. Her makeup was all almost natural, her nose ring a small silver hoop. Marny mentally admitted the outfit was quite awesome, apart from probably being incredibly cold.

"Feeling different." Marny aloud, narrowing her eyes at her friend. "Decided to send Garwin to my place to check on me?"

"Did it make you feel better?" Her friend joked, pleased. They made their way closer to the warmth of fires and crowded dancing bodies. Madelyn didn't even look cold. "Is he here then?"

"Ran off." Marny mused. "Can I stay with you tonight?" Madelyn looked at her for a moment, worried, before nodding, "of course."

"I thought you were bringing a sweater?" Marny pointed out, only half joking.

"Opps." Madelyn chuckled, snapped her fingers, "Forgot, mom."

It was hard to tell if the music they were playing had lyrics, even at the closer distance. She was always slightly shocked at the turn out the parties got, as they were always busted. She supposed it was the adrenaline that came from fleeing from the police.

"Here come the school royalty." Madelyn joked pointing up at the approaching Sons of Ipswich. They always came from the same direction at this hangout, always made an entrance. Marny looked in the direction they were walking, Kate and Sarah stood at another fire speaking to a girl Marny had seen around but had never really talked to, they said their goodbyes once the boys reached them. Reid looked up and held Marny's gaze, she turned away first, the sick feeling in her stomach returning. "What a passionate look there, Miranda." Madelyn watched her friend with a grin on her face. "I think everyone at the party felt the heat out of that one. So are you guys still not-even-friends?"

"Haha." Marny answered dryly.

"Come on. You can go chat up your new _friends_ and introduce me to Tyler. He's cute." Madelyn weaved her fingers with Marny's and pulled her forward towards the group of six.

"Lets not." Marny put up some resistance. "I think I see Kira, let's go talk to her instead." Madelyn sent her a narrowed eyed stare over her shoulder, her pace not pausing. When they reached the group there was an uncomfortable silence that seemed to affect everyone but Madelyn, who was either extremely good at ignoring such things or was extremely bad at noticing them. Marny carefully avoided eye contact; Madelyn stepped on her toe as subtly as it's possible to step on ones toe in a reasonably large group of people.

"This is my friend, Madelyn." Marny lifted her chin defiantly; getting the silent message her friend had sent her, 'suck it up'. "Reid Garwin, Tyler Simms, Pouge Parry, Caleb Danvers, Sarah Wenham, and Kate Tunney." Marny pointed to each person respectively.

"Good to meet you." Madelyn said pleasantly. "Do you ever notice the way that whenever you throw up, you can always see diced carrots? Now, I have _never_ eaten diced carrots in my life. There must be some organization of perverts going around, following drunk people." Marny closed her eyes at the icebreaker, and attempted to stifle her laughter. The group in front of her laughed all for Caleb. Reid turned his face away to hide it, Sarah stifled it much like Marny, Kate giggled, Pouge's laughter would have been infectious in another circumstance. "Wanna dance?" Madelyn broke the series of silence with the cheery question directed at Tyler. He looked torn and confused for a moment before answering, 'sure', and walking away with her.

Marny was slightly shocked, not that Madelyn had left her in a pack of wolves to dance with a boy- Madelyn didn't know what was going on- but that she had asked the youngest and shyest of the four sons to dance and he had accepted. Though, perhaps because no one was worried about Madelyn taking over and killing the Covenant, he wouldn't have felt like he was betraying anyone.

Sarah looked more apprehensive of Marny than ever, not quite glaring but not her usual welcoming self as she starred. Kate looked confused as to why the group seemed to dislike Marny, but she didn't question it. Caleb's hand squeezed around Sarah's softly and she sent him a quite but heartfelt smile in return before turning to Kate, who Pouge had wrapped a protective arm around.

"I'm going to go get a drink." Sarah started off, grabbing Kate's hand as she went and pulling her along. Marny watched with narrowed eyes, she was trapped. Damn.

"Go Tyler." Reid said with a smirk once Kate and Sarah were out of earshot. "Thought she was a lesbian?" He directed at Marny with an arched brow and his half-smile. Marny rolled her eyes.

"I assume this is going to be an interrogation?" Marny turned her attention to Caleb; he was standing slightly in front of Reid and Pouge- his classic subtle leadership move.

"You didn't tell us you were in communication with your grandfather." Caleb stated, going straight to the point. Marny resisted rolling her eyes.

"I wasn't aware I had to inform you of my family meetings." Marny said easily, her hands fisted in her pockets.

"To expel that much power-" Caleb's husky voice cut off at Marny's interruption.

"Is my business, and his, Caleb." Marny's chin lifted. Reid laughed, ignoring the glare that Caleb sent him he just grinned and leaned back on his heels.

"You can't accuse her of being evil just because she and her grandfather like to make waves, Caleb." Pouge spoke up, reasonably.

"What about that act she put on at Halloween," Caleb turned back to Marny, the grin disappeared off Reid's face. "When she apparently knew who we were before then? How long?" He asked her.

"Since my freshman year." She admitted, but then she had a logical excuse for that as well, "I can see into minds, remember?" She spoke coolly. "I didn't tell any of you about me because I knew you wouldn't accept it."

"I'd say she just verbally kicked your ass, Caleb." Reid added. Marny noticed he had added a beanie to his wardrobe; it was pulled down to just below his brows.

"All the shy people are doomed! Natural selection favours the loud and aggressive." Marny recognized Madelyn's voice and turned to watch her approach. Madelyn was speaking to Tyler, who didn't look uncomfortable any longer, they both looked quite happy- and if either of them looked shy, it was Madelyn- who after speaking tilted her head down to hide a soft smile. Marny looked down at their hands, fingers entwined.

"Damn." Reid said aloud.

"I'd second that." Pouge added.

Kate and Sarah were also making their way back, a plastic cup in each hand. Upon reaching the group they passed a cup to Pouge and Caleb respectively- Sarah wrapped her free hand around Caleb's.

"Weren't you the fortune teller at the Halloween party?" Kate spoke to Marny, stepping forward out of the arm Pouge had wrapped around her waist.

"That she was." Madelyn answered pleasantly, pleased to see the possibly ensuing awkward silence dissipate. "She did an awesome job while she was there didn't she?"

"My fortune didn't come true." Kate admitted, smiling at Madelyn's enthusiasm.

"Didn't it?" Marny asked her, looking towards Pouge with a smile.

"What fortune?" Pouge asked stepping forward, his eyes were on Marny. She wasn't offended, she knew what Chase had done to Kate, how he had used her to get to the Covenant. Kate looked to Pouge annoyed.

"It was just a fortune. I got lost finding the restroom and ran into the 'gypsy.' She said I was going to go through some changes- that someone I loved was going to tell me something important."

"I never put a time length on when it would happen." Marny pointed out helpfully. Madelyn laughed.

"She's always very vague like that, don't take it personally. You'd almost think she was hiding something, wouldn't you?" Madelyn bumped her shoulder into her friend's playfully. Reid laughed.

Pouge crushed his cup in his hand and took Kate's in his free one, pulling gently. Kate resisted at first, teasing, but moved with him when she looked at his face. Pouge looked to his brothers, a secret language that only friends that know each other so well understand, and spoke in her ear.

"I can't believe he's going to tell her at a rave." Sarah said aloud.

"Who? What?" Madelyn looked around the remaining group, feeling as if she were suddenly the odd one out.

"I can." Caleb turned his eyes to Marny, her lips twitched up on one side proving her innocent look a mask.

"Maybe we should be there for her?" Sarah asked, looking in the direction the couple had gone. "You know, since I know too?" Caleb nodded his head and walked with Sarah.

"You can stay here baby brother." Caleb spoke to Tyler over his shoulder. Tyler shrugged and turned to Madelyn.

"Wanna go get a drink?" She questioned half-heartedly watching the dispersing group, and the look Reid was giving her best friend. Tyler, being quite bright, had also caught the look _his_ best friend was giving Marny and didn't mind being far away with Madelyn at the moment.

Marny waited until her friends were a good distance away, pleased when Tyler leaned over to whisper in her friend's ear, happy for her friend when Madelyn tilted her head back and laughed. Then she looked to Reid.

"You lied." His arms were crossed over his chest, the shadow of his hat hiding his eyes.

"About what?" Marny answered coolly. He stood a good three feet away from her and she was resolved to keep him that distance, but she wouldn't run away either.

"Your voice goes quiet when you're hiding something." Reid pointed out. He didn't move closer, she averted her eyes. "Didn't know that you have a tell?" He gave a half smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"No one's ever noticed it before." Marny admitted her eyes still not focused on his face. Part of her soared knowing that he had noticed, the other part of her was cursing. The music was so loud.

"How long have you known about us?" Reid questioned, his tone no longer relaxed- he stepped forward now, it seemed in just one movement he had covered the space that separated them, and his fingers were wrapped around her wrist.

"My whole life." She admitted. "The library at the Golden Dawn is quite stocked."

"I thought you told us your father was banned from the Golden Dawn."

"He was. He was very into the history of the power. He researched it; in the library and out of it- he traveled quite a bit trying to find more Covenants. He knew about all of you, about your forefathers.

"They know everything about you in the Golden Dawn," Marny warned halfheartedly.

"They know that in 1773 Peleg Parry caused a British war fleet to run aground in Boston Harbor. How your stupid ancestor Orville Garwin felled an entire herd of Buffalo with a single revolver, or Bernard Garwin winning $12 million in Las Vegas in 1960.

"How in 1942 your Covenant joined Aleister Croley's Order of the Golden Dawn, to form a secret regiment to combat various supernatural Nazi threats. They've been watching your Covenant and all the others, keeping records. My father didn't agree." Marny used, her eyes turning white, to pull her arm away. "And now they're watching me."

The music has stopped; sometime during her rant the music had stopped and now there was screaming. Marny's eyebrows furrowed as she focused behind Reid at the party and bonfires.

The first thing she noticed were the cars, the one that stood out was speeding towards Madelyn who stood but six feet away from Reid's back and was facing Marny with an incredulous look on her face.

Then everything was moving to fast.

She pushed past Reid, using her powers to enter the car-driver's mind at the same moment that she saw Tyler step in front of Madelyn and shield her- his eyes flamed and became pitch black one arm in front of him as Madelyn turned in his arms to see the oncoming horror.

Marny had the driver slam on his breaks, she turned the wheel as far as it would go hoping that the car would spin out and stop before rolling over her friend, hoping that Tyler was strong enough to stop it if she couldn't.

The car turned sharply spitting up dirt and rocks but continued to spin towards her best friend and a boy she had come to care about. Within four feet of the couple the car hit an invisible wall- the driver's eyes wide and fearful as the car came close to hitting the two teenagers, then the car rebounded off the source of power and rammed into a tree.

Marny's eyes cleared as she rushed towards Madelyn and Tyler, Reid close behind her.

Madelyn's eyes were wide, she was leaning on Tyler- her hand clutched tightly to his arm he had wrapped around her to shield her.

"I didn't know I was that powerful." Tyler said thoughtfully as Reid entered his vision.

"Jesus, Tyler." Reid rolled his eyes, "After all we've done you didn't think you could stop a car?"

"He was going fast enough that the pressure would still have affected Tyler, rebounded." Marny glared at Reid. "Didn't you take Physics?" Reid just looked at her.

"Why would I choose to take Physics?" He questioned.

"Nevermind. What the hell is going on? Why was he going so fast?" Marny put her hand on Madelyn's forehead.

"Ohmygod." Madelyn finally spoke. "That was…weird in a fucking awesome way." She looked at Marny, her head tilted and eyes narrowed- mouth opened to say something before she seemed to remember something important, her eyes going wide again. "The spiders! We've got to get out of here; I've never seen so many of them."

"Black spiders swarmed out of the fire, a couple of people got bitten." Tyler spoke up. "We've got to find Caleb, there were a lot of them."

Marny saw now.

A swarm of black that was coming from inside the largest of the bonfires. As if the spiders were smoke falling to the earth, they were fanning out, turning the ground black in their numbers. She saw students screaming, helping the bitten to cars. She shivered and stepped back when she noticed at least two people lying in the grass, at least one person attempting to brush at the spiders pulsing around them, surrounded.

She had brought this.

A growl distracted her, Cian stood now ten feet in front of them facing the swarms of spiders, back slightly arched and hair standing on end, his jowls pulled back in a snarl.

"What the _hell_ is that? Is that a wolf for god's sake?" Madelyn's eyes popped wide again as she also caught sight of Cian.

"That's Taylor's _dog_." Reid replied. "How convenient," He remarked to Marny.

"You've some explaining to do." Madelyn warned Marny, her voice mocking Ricardo's from _I Love Lucy_. The four of them ran down the path the other two couples had gone, away from the spiders and towards the cars, Cian following the group, before almost stopping when they heard the yelling.

"You didn't tell me? Even after that freak put me in the hospital?" Kate was yelling at Pouge.

"By freak I hope you mean murderer." Sarah pointed out calmly, her hand on her friends elbow. Kate pushed it away.

"You didn't tell me either!" Kate accused, she looked over and saw Marny. "Does everyone know but me?" She questioned loudly turning to Pouge.

"Which of the crazy things happening here are you screaming about?" Madelyn called out, leaning away from Tyler. She looked around at the group as if they were all mad- "Come on- all the awkward silences despite the massive sexual tension, fucking millions of spiders come out of the fucking _fires_, Marny has a wolf (which shows up out of nowhere right along with the fucking spiders), something seriously weird is going on with Marny and Tyler's eyes, and _I_ almost get hit by a car but miraculously it hits an invisible wall and runs into a tree instead." She counted off these occurrences on her fingers before addressing Kate, "and you want to argue on how everyone knew but you, which since I'm still a bit lost, isn't one of the many things on the list to worry about."

"Spiders?" Caleb asked Reid.

"Yes, spiders, they came out of the huge bomb fires and in great numbers too. Okaynowbye." And Madelyn grabbed a hold of Marny's hand before pulling her away down the path that lead to her parked car.

**TBC**

**References::**

**1)** "Do you ever notice the way that whenever you throw up, you can always see diced carrots? Now, I have _never_ eaten diced carrots in my life. There must be some organization of perverts going around, following drunk men." –Billy Connolly

**2)** "All the shy people are doomed! Natural selection favours the loud and aggressive." –Blackadder

**3)** "Hey, which of the crazy things happening here are you guys screaming about?" -Futurama


	7. Over

**Gifts and Curses**

**Chapter Six: Over**

You better crawl on your knees  
The next time you say that you love me  
Fall on your knees  
Cause next time I won't be so kind  
Can't you see that this is life  
And life is killing me

Is it yours is it mine  
Our sky fell down tonight  
To wash away the pain

Tell me over and over and over and over and over again  
It never was the time for us  
It never was the time to let me in  
Show me over and over and over and over and over again  
It never was the time for us  
It never was the time to let me in

You better see  
How evil you can be  
When you see my evil smile  
It's the one that you'll remember  
When I am not so kind  
Can't you see that this is death  
And death is saving me

I say burn all your bridges  
While you still have control of the flame  
I know it's hard  
But you-

Tell me over and over and over and over and over again  
It never was the time for us  
It never was the time to let me in  
Show me over and over and over and over and over again  
It never was the time for us  
It never was the time to let me in

Hard and to the point  
So hard and to the point

Tell me over and over and over and over and over again  
It never was the time for us  
It never was the time to let me in  
Show me over and over and over and over and over again  
It never was the time for us  
It never was the time to let me in  
Tell me over and over and over and over and over again  
It never was the time for us  
It never was the time to let me in  
_-__Evans Blue_

Monday morning.

It was already Monday morning.

Marny clenched her eyes closed and groped blindly for the snooze button on her alarm. She didn't want five more minutes, she needed them. She turned her back to the alarm and the world and attempted to focus on something else.

Friday night would work; it had, after all, been one of the weirdest nights of her life- second only to receiving her powers.

After Madelyn had grabbed her hand and started towards the cars, Madelyn had stopped as if forgetting something, stomped back, and planted one decisively on Tyler. Tyler had looked stunned, Reid amused, and Caleb annoyed. Marny didn't have time to check Pouge's reaction because Madelyn had stormed back, reclaimed Marny's hand, and started to the car again.

Madelyn drove a silver PT Cruiser, which was relatively new. She had no more opened the driver's side door than Cian had jumped in and made his way to the back seat. Madelyn looked over the top of the car to where Marny was still standing quietly at the passenger's side door.

Marny knew who had caused the swarms of spiders. Chase was obviously watching her and she felt slow and stupid for not remembering his choice spell before. He had been there in her dreams, warping her memory of the night she met Reid. She was already mentally gathering materials she would need for a charm to block him from her mind, and conjuring the exercises for a mental wall that would also be needed.

"I have a very strict rule," Madelyn was mumbling as she climbed into the driver's seat, "an extremely strict rule about dogs in my car." Madelyn opened the door for Marny as she was still standing outside with a dazed look on her face. "If you get in the car, I'll ignore the massive _dog_ in my backseat." Madelyn snapped at her best friend. Marny snapped out of her thoughts and climbed, not so gracefully, into the passenger seat.

Madelyn drove in silence, a pattern Marny was starting to recognize, to her home. Cian waited until Marny opened the back door to the PT before stepping out and following the two girls up to the house. Marny noticed that his hair was still on end, his ears still twisting to catch any small noise in the distances, he didn't growl which made her think that nothing was dangerous at this point.

Marny said hello to Madelyn's father on the way up to Madelyn's room, a room that was familiar to Marny. The walls were painted white, except for the walls at the window seat which were a dark but bright red. The white walls were completely covered in Madelyn's paintings. Where the art work wasn't hanging, there were small sketches in ink or pencil or marker. At first glance there wasn't a bed, but the couch at one side of the wall pulled out into one, there was one bookshelf with classics as well as books full of tips for oil pastels, ink work, and all sorts of painting.

She had two closets, one was for her clothes and the door to this was decorated in her favorite musicians and actors; the other closet was a walk-in and the doors had been removed. The second closet held Madelyn's computer desk, and where the desk wasn't shelves were. The shelves held all of Madelyn's records, cds, and dvds and the shelves, desk, and walls in this closet were painted the same red as the window seat walls. On the desk stood a wire cage with a cream and white pet rat named Araby.

They didn't speak of what had happened, of what was happening, until Cian was comforted enough to disappear as quietly as he had appeared. And Marny spilled everything.

How her step-father had lived and died, why she was the only female with powers; she spilled about her grandfather asking her to spy on the Covenant of Silence, and she explained what the Covenant of Silence was. She told Madelyn about Chase and his control of spiders, and his tendency to stick his nose into places it didn't belong.

And finally, Marny explained how she had ruined everything, because she had broken the biggest rule and had fallen in love with Reid.

"So…" Madelyn tilted her head as if allowing everything to sink in so she could find her own thoughts on it all. "Your father was a warlock, and he died when he gave you his powers, which pissed of _his_ father and their gang of sexist idiots. Said gang decided to use you when your mother pulled you out of art school and send you here, to spy on the four hottest boys at the school, which are also apparently warlocks…And you're in love with Reid, and you didn't tell me?" In Madelyn's opinion, this was the oddest of the news.

"This is serious Madelyn. You're in huge danger right now. I shouldn't have said anything at all." Marny looked away from her friend, her conscience warring with her need to get everything off her chest.

"Don't be ridiculous, Marny. You know me. I mean, I laugh in the face of fear and tweak the nose of the dreadful spindly killer fish." Madelyn smiled, goofy and yet being calm and reserved at the same time. Marny turned her gaze back and was quiet still.

"Come on," Madelyn continued, "you're practically a super hero. Powers, hot boy, I'm sure you have a secret lair somewhere."

"What if I'm not the super hero? What if I'm the bad guy?" Marny asked quietly, looking off again.

"Please, this group- what are they? The Golden Dawn, right? Ye olde 'Gentlemen's Club,' they're the 'bad guys'- you're the confused hero that works for them until you realize what you're doing isn't right." Madelyn moved from her seat on the bed to kneel under it and pull out a box. She dumped it on the bed and a good three dozen comic books slid out.

"The Silver Surfer, in Fantastic Four, he goes through the same thing. Well, he does in the movie…I haven't taken the comic out of the plastic yet so I couldn't tell you how it really works, but anyway- he works for the big bad that's eating planets, but at the end he realizes it's wrong and he works on the Fantastic Four's side..."

"Doesn't he die in the end?" Marny looked at Madelyn with wide eyes and a horrified expression. Madelyn ignored her.

"Now, tell me about this Golden Dawn. I want to be your mortal sidekick." Marny rolled her eyes at Madelyn.

"'They are a hand grasping at the neck yet the neck does not know them and man knows them not.'" Marny quoted.

"Ew." Madelyn scrunched her nose. "Actually, let's talk about Garwin instead."

Marny sighed.

"I don't know when it happened. I just thought he was annoying and arrogant before Halloween- and now I'm at the 'I hurt when he hurts, I smile when he smiles' stage."

Madelyn smiled knowingly, "I hate that part." Then she reached out and hugged Marny. "He can't _hate_ you if he isn't in love with you as well you know. Those two emotions are the strongest and the most vital. You can not hate what you have not once loved."

This advice, this bit of knowledge, was so very different from what her mother had said that Marny felt completely thrown off.

She was still repeating those words in her head when her alarm went off for the second time that Monday morning.

Marny turned, a very real feeling of impending doom was hovering around her consciousness like an actually body, like something she could just reach out and touch. She hated impending doom. Once again she reached out blindly to hit the snooze button on her alarm, and then she slowly opened her eyes.

And she screamed.

It was the most girlish squeal Reid Garwin had ever heard in his life and he couldn't possibly be blamed for laughing so hard he almost fell out of his seat.

"It is _not_ funny. You scared the hell out of me." Marny pulled the covers up to her chest in another very girlish move and Reid started laughing all over again. "How did you even get in here?" Marny was almost growling in annoyance.

Reid's eyes flashed black in answer, Marny heard the lock on the door come undone and relock; he was leaning back in his seat now, he had replaced his laughter with a smirk and cool composure. "I've been waiting for you to get up for," He spared a glance at the very expensive looking watch he wore on his wrist, "twenty minutes. You're very amusing when you sleep."

Marny narrowed her eyes and resisted the urge to kick out at his seat and send him sprawling to the floor.

"Boys aren't aloud in the girls dorms." She answered icily instead and pushed her blankets away to move from her bed.

"Are you going to tell on me, Taylor?" Reid watched her move across the room to her closest where she shot him another withering glare. Her eyes softened, and the fear in them was almost visible when she saw the letter next to her alarm on her bedside table behind Reid.

"What are you doing here, Reid?" She finally questioned, her uniform on it's hanger over her forearm.

Reid looked up at her from his seat, his smirk still on his face, his eye brow arched. "School was canceled."

"What?" Marny thought her knees might give out so she reached out and gripped the foot board of her bed. Her knuckles went white with her grip, and Marny thought again of impending doom. There he was dancing behind Reid, and yet was like a blanket surrounding Marny in its darkness.

"I figured you one for watching the news." Reid said easily, but she noticed that the smirk had become less comical and more appraising now. "School was cancelled because of the amount of students that never returned from the rave Friday night. A few showed up in the hospital, a few were found in the woods around the dells. A few appeared to have disappeared- school is canceled so that anyone that is on that last list that might have gone to a friend's house, or home, can call in." Reid stopped and stood from his seat. "Caleb wants to talk to you." Reid didn't meet her eyes, and Marny's eyes turned to the letter still waiting for her on that bedside table.

"Your 'dog' was here when I came in by the way." Now Reid did look at her, this time she thought he might have seen the mind numbing fear that had entered her eyes. "He left, shortly after."

"Reid-" Marny almost told him everything. She felt like she had to now, so many people hurt, missing, dead. She knew they were dead, those that were unaccounted for. Chase didn't seem to care who died in his quest for power at this point. Marny did care, but she didn't say anything. "I've got to change." She said instead and put her uniform back in exchange for a pair of jeans and cream coloured hoodie.

"No ones stopping you." Reid's voice had returned to its mocking tone. He moved to her bed and reclined upon it; Marny threw a book at him and moved to the bathroom with her clothes in her hand.

The letter was still waiting for her when she returned to the room, the wax still sealed; Reid had his booted feet on top of her bedspread and his eyes closed. Annoyed, without thinking, she pushed his feet off and was shocked when his fingers were wrapped around her wrist in a movement that was almost inhuman. She resisted the tug, instead of falling onto the bed she ended up leaning against his now bent knees their faces closer than Marny felt comfortable with.

He let her go and she stepped back.

"I haven't been sleeping lately." He confessed before standing from the bed. Marny noticed now what the shadow of the beanie had been hiding. Blue smudges under his eyes that made him look almost vulnerable, and Marny pushed away the sick feeling in her gut.

"Spiders?" Marny questioned half-heartedly. Reid's glance shot up.

"No." His smirk returned. "Since we're so close the boys put me in charge of night duty." Marny narrowed her eyes and would have attacked him if he hadn't continued in his same confident tone. "Nothing perverted you know, just to make sure your not over using your power while were asleep."

"It's none of your business what I do with my power." Marny rolled her eyes annoyed, and walked to the dorm door.

"Are you dreaming of spiders?" Reid slipped through the door before her and she stopped, looking back into her room.

"Not anymore." Her voice went quiet, distracted. "I forgot something." She shut the door in his face and walked to her bedside table. The letter didn't look overly menacing, the five cornered star engraved in the wax didn't hold any power. She reached out slowly and picked it up, just holding and looking at it for a moment.

When she broke the seal it unfolded to a single piece of paper with just six lines and a signature.

_The Putnam Barn Ashes  
__10:00 p.m. – Friday night.  
__Alone.  
__Your mom, your room-mate, your friend Madelyn, Garwin-  
__We've been watching you  
__And their lives are in your hands.  
__-Your Fiancé_

She crumbled the paper in her hand. _Your Finacé._ He was mocking her, her grandfather and Chase were mocking her.

Marny almost dropped the paper in the basket. It wasn't worth it anymore, her powers weren't worth all the lives Chase had taken, her powers weren't worth hurting Reid, or Tyler, or Pouge or Caleb. They had done nothing to her, they hadn't done anything to anyone (with the exception of Aaron and he deserved it…)

Then she saw the words in her mind. Mom. Madelyn. Garwin.

This wasn't about her anymore. They had threatened her mother before, but her mother understood, she knew what the Golden Dawn was like. But Reid was no threat to them, Madelyn was nothing to them. Chase had control now, he was her grandfather's man, and no one cared if a couple people died in their quest to make the Golden Dawn the most powerful Covenant.

Reid or Caleb.

That's what they were asking her. Reid, or Caleb.

She dropped the paper into the wastebasket and picked up the book on her bedside table when she heard her door lock click over.

"We still have to pick up your girlfriend, Taylor." Reid leaned against the open door. "I doubt you'll have time for reading." He arched his eyebrow and nodded at the book in her hands.

Marny sat it back down and spared another momentary glance at the ball of paper in the bottom of her otherwise empty waste basket.

Tyler was driving again. Reid was in the passenger seat, his elbow propped in the open window, his hand resting on the roof. Madelyn was sitting next to her chatting happily with Tyler about the song playing on the radio. Marny knew the song, "Like a Man Possessed" by The Get Up Kids. She had the CD somewhere in her house; she knew the lyrics by heart.

_I go on forever  
__Older burns are overturned  
__My life for worse or better  
__I'm just craving for a cure  
__Like a man possessed  
__A requiem  
__We're singing  
__Hide the misdemeanors  
__Never lead an open life  
__My hands were never cleaner  
__Not a trace for you to find_

Reid caught her gaze in his visor mirror and she looked away.

"-Decrepit." Madelyn cut off her own sentence when they pulled up to the falling down wooden fence in front of Caleb's old family home.

Reid and Tyler went in first, and the girls had just moments to themselves. In Marny's experience it only took moments to fill your best friend in on an entire week's worth of events much less one morning's.

"He threatened Kira?" Madelyn replied to Marny's rant with a snort. "Obviously he isn't watching you all _that_ well."

"Maddy, god, pay attention; he threatened you too. You, and Reid." Marny pinched the bridge of her nose in the fingers of her left hand.

"Yeah but at least that makes sense." Madelyn paused and thought it over. "You know, you could maybe take _her_ with you. That would get rid of that problem."

"This isn't funny." Marny didn't look up from where she had her head cupped in her palms.

"No, I know that…Why don't you break the rules Marny? Why not tell them everything. They're asking, they would protect you, you know…Even if they're really upset with you- they're the good guys, they don't really have a choice."

"You're putting all of your bets on comic books again." Marny couldn't help but laugh.

"I don't think so." Madelyn said seriously. "Here they come. I won't say anything- it's the heroine's choice to change her mind and work with the good guys. But, really I think they were silly back the first time. He only had the power of two people right? They had the power of four."

Marny thought about this while Madelyn grinned when Tyler opened the car door for her.

The house was not empty, Gorman was there per-usual, but he only watched as the four of them entered the cellar where they could already hear voices. Sarah and Kate were sitting next to Caleb and Pouge respectively, and their circle now made eight.

Marny had already made her decision; she had been hoping though to find only the boys in the basement. She knew that Maddy was going to stand up for her though she would have been outnumbered by two but now the odds were horribly uneven.

"We feel like it's our responsibility to go out and attempt to find the students on the list that are still considered missing." Caleb started, his hands curled together between his knees and his eyes cast down looking at them. He looked up through his lashes, his head still tilted down, "We should have made sure that Chase was gone. That he wasn't hanging around waiting to get his revenge."

"He hasn't…really, been 'hanging around'" Marny started, her own eyes downcast. She hand her hands palm down on her knees, her fingers digging into the denim. Madelyn stiffened her back next to her and Marny knew her enough to know that her posture would be Marny's opposite. Maddy would be sitting with h"We feel like it's our responsibility to go out and attempt to find the students on the list that are still considered missing." Caleb started, his hands curled together between his knees and his eyes cast down looking at them. He looked up through his lashes, his head still tilted down, "We should have made sure that Chase was gone. That he wasn't hanging around waiting to get his revenge."

"He hasn't…really, been 'hanging around.'" Marny started, her own eyes downcast. She hand her hands palm down on her knees, her fingers digging into the denim. Madelyn stiffened her back next to her and Marny knew her enough to know that her posture would be Marny's opposite. Maddy would be sitting with her shoulders back, her chin high, and her eyes defiant.

Everything was silent for a moment, and then she heard only the person directly across from her get to his feet. Caleb.

"Are you going to come clean Miranda?" Caleb's voice was tight. "Explain why so much power came from your room that night? Your _grandfather."_ Caleb didn't move from where he was standing next to Sarah. "You know where Chase has been?"

Marny's eyes flashed up to Caleb, and no one else, "That _was _my grandfather that night." And now she stood. "And I _do_ know where Chase has been because he's been working with my grandfather."

Now Pouge stood, stood in front of Kate and looked at Marny with the kind of betrayed expression Tyler was giving her from his seat next to Madelyn. She dared not look at Reid. "Chase is with the Golden Dawn, and so are you." Caled put it together and spoke with quite anger.

"Let her finish!" Madelyn stood from her own seat now and looked around the circle. Marny felt a great appreciation for her best friend and pitied everyone that took their own best friend for granted. "She has something to tell you, she's trusting _you_, putting herself up on the chopping block to both sides, and you're going to just send her away?"

Caleb didn't say anything to Madelyn's rant, he just turned his eyes to Marny, still accusing but waiting to see how she would defend herself.

So Marny explained everything again, this time with more detail. She ended her story with an apology and admitted that she wasn't going to make excuses- those missing students _were_ her fault, they might have been protected if she had come clean sooner.

She did leave out her feelings for Reid.

By the end of her explanation Pouge had returned to his seat.

"He wants Caleb to fight him again?" Pouge asked, his gaze moving from Marny to Caleb.

"Yes…but this time he's been tutored by the Golden Dawn. If he dies though, they won't risk avenging him. He's more of a pawn." Marny explained, her eyes and concentration on Caleb.

"If he dies though, they won't risk avenging him. He's more of a pawn." Marny explained, her eyes and concentration on Caleb.  
"But what about you?" Sarah spoke; she was sitting on her seat next to Caleb.

"What if they wanted Marny to tell you?" Kate spoke now, her eyes on Marny with distrust and an amount of confusion.

"They still won't come after you if I die." Marny clarified.

"But they will go after you." Reid spoke for the first time since the ordeal had begun; he heard what Marny hadn't said.

"I'm just a pawn to them- an experiment…But I've betrayed them, so I'm of no more use. They'll see I can't be trusted. They'll know I'm not following orders anymore."

"I believe her." Tyler now spoke for the first time; his blue eyes spoke silent volumes to each of his brothers. Marny sent him an appreciative smile. "And it wouldn't be the first time someone within our Covenant made a mistake that put a lot of people in danger- that put us in danger." Marny thought this sentence was something only their covenant was meant to understand. Her suspicions wee confirmed when Pouge nodded and murmured 'Woods hole Warlock.'

Caleb nodded, accepting Tyler's reasoning and in the process accepting Marny.

"Then what's the plan?" Sarah was holding Caleb's hand now that he had resumed his seat. "We have to stop Chase."

"Does he—do they know that you've decided to betray them?" Caleb asked Marny.

Se shook her head 'no,' "I put up blocks on my mind, Madelyn's and this house…I didn't want to intrude." They understood she meant that she hadn't wanted to intrude on their minds. "The first thing we should do is make sure that Madelyn, Sarah, and Kate are safe."

"I think we should help in the attack." Madelyn said defiantly. "I think everyone should have the blocks put up, and that we should come up with a plan where we help- all of us- take him down and show the Golden Dawn we're to be feared."

"What are you saying?" Marny looked at Madelyn astonished.

"I'm saying, the mouse never wins. Not unless you believe those lying cartoons. We don't run, we strike! It's the last thing they'll be expecting." Madelyn looked proud of herself.

"No, the last thing they'll be expecting is for us to turn into ice skating mongooses and to dance the Bolero. And your plan makes about as much sense." Marny sighed. "You, and Kate, and Sarah could get seriously hurt- you could die- you didn't see what Chase did last time he went on a power kick and now he's been training with the Golden Dawn. Understand, Maddy, the only similarity between this and your comic books are that main characters could die…and, we have super powers."

Madelyn looked hurt, she turned to the faces around the fire, Sarah's and Kate's looked as though they were on her side. A huge argument followed.

"Not fair!" Kate sounded outraged.

"If life were going to suddenly get 'fair,' I doubt it would happen in high school." Reid smirked; Marny caught a glimpse of his face out of the corner of her eye.

"I'm sick of being Princess Toadstool!" Kate now took her turn to stand from her seat in annoyance, she faced Pouge to unleash her anger. "I'm sick of not being able to fight for myself because someone decided only boys get to have super powers- and not even just the nice ones but the bad ones too!" Kate looked to Sarah and Madelyn. "I'm sick of being the bad guy's bait."

"Me too." Sarah said more quietly, looking at Caleb. "There has to be someway we can help."

"We're not putting you in danger." Caleb started.

"No- Chase is. The Golden Dawn is. You're protecting us; you're letting us help protect ourselves."

Caleb was quiet for a moment considering, looking at Sarah's face, but everyone witnessed his shoulders slump in defeat.

"Come on, Caleb! How are they going to help against Chase? You wouldn't even let Reid and Tyler help last time." Pouge was still attempting to keep Kate from having to fight.

"Which I thought was stupid by the way." Reid said helpfully, leaning forward in his hair, his hands intertwined as one between his knees, his elbows resting on them.

"I did too, actually." Marny added, thinking of the possibilities.

Caleb sent a silent glance to both of them that clearly said he wasn't amused.

"I agree with Madelyn." Reid continued. "I think we should all fight. Chase isn't strong enough to take on us all. And the girls can do something to help from a safe distance if nothing else." He added at Pouge's look. "We have time to think it all through- to come up with a plan."

"Good." Kate said, appeased. "Good. I agree with Reid."

"I second." Sarah.

"I third." Madelyn, raised her hand with her addition.

"Then it's settled." Marny looked around at the boys that were not giving their agreement, but were also no longer fighting it. "We have until Friday to come up with a plan…four days."

Caleb glanced at this watch, "It's noon."

"Time flies when planning an epic battle." Reid scoffed; he stood now from his seat and rocked back on his heels.

"Reid and I will drop Madelyn and Marny off at the dorms." Marny tilted her head to the side listen to Tyler explain that he had to visit his mother- she closed her eyes trying to pay attention as his voice seemed to be fading and coming back in.

She opened her eyes quickly, through her head back as the powers took over, Madelyn next to her jumped back in shock but Marny didn't feel or see that. She didn't hear Sarah and Kate give small screams.

Her physical eyes were blind to the basement she was really standing in; all around her was darkness but Marny could feel the atmosphere in the room her mind was in. It was damp and she felt the need to lift her hands to protect her arms from it, to warm them, but she didn't dare. A flash of light hurt her eyes and she saw that she was in a cell, stone walls surrounded her and in front of her a man's figure was holding a bright torch of fire behind the metal bars that Marny was trapped behind. Another figure stood by the first, again a man.

She knew where she was, she had been here before for disrespecting her grandfather's orders. Bad things happened in these cells. Cells which were kept in an estate in Massachusetts country, kept by the Golden Dawn. The man holding the torch was another member, one that was generally with her grandfather, and the man standing beside him was Chase.

Chase was even older looking than he had been when he had been in her room. He was still attractive, he was cleanly groomed, his hair was think and parted to the side but the hair at his ears was silvering making him look very distinct, their were the faintest of lines around his eyes. He could have been a handsome thirty year old broker in New York.

"Taylor said the boy was to be another gift for joining the Golden Dawn. Your loyalty to our Covenant will be rewarded by such gifts- and we have our most intelligent members working to stop your aging process." The man smiled cruelly. "If it can be stopped it would be beneficial for all of our Covenant- we would be the most powerful. In the mean time Taylor thinks that you could use a power boost for your upcoming…foray." The man held out his hand to Marny as if he were introducing a game show winner to their new car.

Marny looked down at herself in confusion and realized that she was in the mind of a adolescent boy, her hands were warmed red brown and made her think of the Covenant her father had worked with while in India.

"He hasn't yet ascended- but with your power already, and your father's, his shall be an assist, yes?" The man put the torch in it's holding on the wall and took a step back to let Chase come in father to Marny's vision.

"Please, don't." The boy's voice was weak and still high, Marny's lips moved with his to form the words.

"It shouldn't take to much effort on your part." The man said kindly to Chase before turning and walking to the cellar exit.

Chase smiled not unkindly once the man had left; "It will be so much less painful for both of us if you'll will your powers to me without a fight." He explained.

Marny shook her head with the boy, her tear and his fell down their cheeks.

Chase shrugged his shoulder and in a move as fast as lightning a power ball slammed into their body. Marny and the boy screamed and fell to their knees.

Marny fell unconscious.

With the pain shooting up her legs from her fall Marny opened her eyes again to the Covenant of Silence's basement. Reid had his arms around her, it seemed as though he had caught her before the pain in her body had caused her to fall back from her knees and hit her head against the stones.

Worried faces surrounded her.

"Are you alright?" Madelyn's eyes were as wide as saucers. "Someone get her a wet cloth! Her nose and mouth are bleeding."

Marny nodded her head and lifted a hand to the blood from her nose, her face was wet with blood and tears.

"The powers don't affect you." Caleb sounded angry and Marny thought that seemed a little out of line. "You've got white all through your hair."

"I age well." Marny said weakly with a snort, and then cringed when it caused pain.

"Did you pass out because of your powers?" Marny looked up to Madelyn's eyes, eyes that seemed furious, Marny noticed that Reid's looked much the same. "You passed out, and you're bleeding from your nose and mouth, and you scared the fucking _hell_ out of us because of using?"

"That's the first time I've ever passed out."

"But it's not the first nose bleed." Reid gritted out and Marny remembered the other time he had been there when she had used to keep him from over hearing her conversation with her mother in their kitchen.

Marny shook her head acknowledging this.

Kate came forward with a wet tee-shirt and shrugged at the looks this received from the others surrounding Marny. "It was cleaner than what was upstairs…it was in Tyler's car."

Tyler rolled his eyes.

"What happened?" Sarah asked carefully.

Marny looked at her, at her friends and the others before answering. "My powers acted of their on accord." She admitted. "It's not the first time- it's happened before but never this strongly. Never on someone so far away before." Marny leaned away from Reid carefully, regretting it when she was suddenly cold and missing the contact but at the same time realizing she couldn't be close to Reid at the moment.

"I was in the mind of a boy I think the Golden Dawn kidnapped from another Covenant in India- they were giving him to Chase so he would be stronger for the fight. He hadn't ascending yet…"

Everyone looked taken aback. "They kidnapped a child?" Caleb ground out.

"And they're looking for a way to stop the aging process when someone uses. I had the feeling their doing experiments on Chase- he's older and obviously been using. I think they're measuring how the using with twice as much power affects the aging process."

Marny leaned back on her hand when she got dizzy attempting to stand. "I think I'm ready to go back to the dorms now." She admitted.

Madelyn reached forward to help her but Reid was already lifting her to her feet by her arms, more gently that Marny would have ever given him credit for. Madelyn leaned back on her heels, watching, with her hands clasped behind her back.

"I think- I think they know that I'm not going to side with them this time." Marny added looking to Caleb. "They don't know that I've already switched sides, but they're not going to be surprised. They're trying to even the playing field." Marny smiled weakly and walked with Reid up the stairs.

"I'm taking your car Tyler." His voice was quieter than Marny had ever heard it and she recognized the anger bubbling below his usual so care-free masquerade. Tyler didn't answer and Marny knew they wanted her gone as well so that they could talk about what had happened without freaking her out.

Marny fell asleep in the passenger seat in Tyler's truck with the wet tee-shirt pressed to her nose for the bleeding.

**TBC**

**Author's Notes: **

The song for this chapter sparked the plot for this fanfic. It's really fast and hard so it made me think of The Covenant anyway; then there are the lyrics. I mean, they really make me think of Reid and Marny, and when I heard the lines 'Can't you see that this is life and life is killing me/Can't you see that this is death and death is saving me' I was like, "Oh my god! The powers!" Yeah…I listened to this song so many freaking times while writing this- and I wanted to put at the top of a bunch of other chapters but stopped myself.

Anyway, I apologize for taking so long to get this up-

but, there _is_ a treat next chapter to make this story officially rated Mature.

Whoot.

Review please.

**References::**

**1 **"Don't be ridiculous, Baldrick. You know me. I mean, I laugh in the face of fear and tweak the nose of the dreadful spindly killer fish." -Blackadder

**2** "_They are the hand grasping at the neck yet the neck does not know them and man knows them not." _The Necronomicon, Avon Books (1980)

**3** "What if I'm not the superhero? What if I'm the bad guy?" – "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer (Go now, and read it if you haven't.)

**4** "It's too late, anyway. I'm already at the 'I hurt when he hurts, I smile when he smiles' stage." "I hate that part." –Buffy the Vampire Slayer

**5** "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, the mouse never wins. Not unless you believe those lying cartoons. We don't run, we strike! It's the last thing they'll be expecting."

"No, the last thing they'll be expecting is for us to turn into ice skating mongooses and to dance the Bolero. And your plan makes about as much sense." –Red Dwarf

**6** "If life were going to suddenly get 'fair,' I doubt it would happen in high school." –Sky High


	8. Broken Bridge Mature

**Gifts and Curses**

**Chapter Seven: Broken Bridge [Mature**

All my rooms are filled with musty dust,  
Time has taken all that I possess.  
I never know if to laugh or to scream-  
To hate or to believe.

How could you walk across that broken bridge?

All their eyes followed as you so gracefully lived.  
And I tossed myself behind your feet  
You cursed me.  
You cursed me.

Falling through your sphere,  
All I know if you and here.  
Your tongue is fire when you speak-  
But you make me sing,  
Your love makes me sing.

All my spaces are filled with you.  
With all the colours in the world yours had to be blue.  
And I'm breaking through your shameless ways-  
I can't refrain

Your hair is messy,  
Your frown is soft.  
You try to be harsh but you know you're so loved.  
I will toss myself down at your will.  
You know you kill.  
You know you kill.

Falling through your sphere,  
All I know if you and here.  
Your tongue is fire when you speak-  
But you make me sing,  
Your love makes me sing.

How could you walk across that broken bridge?  
_-__Daughter Darling_

Marny woke slowly and realized that when she had fallen asleep her head had been beating with such pain she hadn't comprehended it until it had gone away.

"Some of the grey has gone again." Marny jumped at the voice coming from beside her bed.

Reid was leaning back in her computer chair; he had moved it to the side of her bed.

"What?" Marny looked up at him, confused, but didn't lift her head from the pillow.

"Your grey hairs-" he smirked now, but not unkindly, "some of them have become dark again."

"Oh." She lifted a hand to her head to touch her hair. "I heal quickly- that's why I look young even though I use so much." Marny explained. "It's the answer the Golden Dawn is looking for, to stop or slow the aging process, but it won't work for them." She smiled as if she were going to share a secret, "they're boys." And she sighed, her chest still hurt a ghost pain of the one the boy had received while she had been in his mind. "So, I keep up my appearances when they're around…they just think I don't age- not that I do and then replenish."

"That makes sense." Reid uncrossed his arms and leaned forward. "It's still killing you though."

"The same as it kills you every time you use." Many looked up from her pillow defiantly. "And yet do you not still use for purposes like unlocking doors?"

"And making sure that one's room mate thinks she has to spend the night at her step-mother's house." He looked down at her, amused and yet there was something else in his eyes. She thought it resembled a hint of the anger he had in him earlier in the day.

"What?" She questioned.

"Snider, I sent her home." Reid smirked down at her puckered brow and was amused when he saw it smooth with understanding. "There's a vein that pops out in your forehead when you're angry or confused." He pointed out.

"Ugh." Marny scowled and moved her hand to cover her forehead.

"It's Wiona Ryder-ish." Reid continued.

"Ugh." Marny repeated and glared up at him. "What time is it?" her attempt to change the subject was a sad one, but Reid looked down at his watch.

"3 a.m. Tuesday." He answered. "You've been unconscious for fifteen hours."

"You're not acting as angry as I expected you too." Marny admitted. Reid's eyes hardened.

"I've been considering." He rolled his eyes and continued at Marny's silence. "I realized I wasn't mad at you so much as I was mad that Caleb was right. I owe Pouge twenty dollars."

Marny snorted in disbelief. Reid leaned forward in the chair, his elbows propped up on his knees.

"Then you don't hate me, for spying on you for all these years? For lying to you?" Marny questioned quietly, thinking of Madelyn's assurance that he couldn't hate her if he didn't already love her, wondering at which answer she really wanted to hear.

Reid considered, "I don't-" he admitted, "I probably would have done the same thing. I don't understand why you told us. You could have stayed with the Golden Dawn, they're stronger, we would have known it was you that told them about us, and we would have been pissed, but we couldn't have done anything to you with them protecting you."

Marny's eyes hardened. "I was sick of being the pawn. Of them having control over me, over everything I did. And…And I've come to regard you as someone…as someone…" She paused and pulled her eyes away, pushing herself up on her elbows to make their heights more even, and then faltered when she looked back at his face. "Someone that I've met."

Marny was annoyed with herself when Reid smirked in response.

She was shocked when he reached forward and pressed his lips to hers. She stopped breathing, shock coursing through her much like the last time but faster and with more devastating consequences.

She couldn't think straight, only thoughts of Reid filled her mind- Reid's hand at her neck pulling her forward roughly, gently, just pulling her forward to him and her back arching to allow the movement; her hands moving to keep her upper body from falling back on the bed, his other hand on the bed next to her pushing into the mattress, him leaning forward in her computer chair.

His mouth was moving against hers and her eyes were closed on a sigh- she wanted to reach out and touch him, to run her hands through his hair, she wanted- she moved one of her hands off of the bed and wrapped her fingers around the back of his neck, now pulling him towards her, his knees were on the bed and now she was leaning back against her pillows with him over her. She breathed deep, his scent filling her mind, and she was filled with more thoughts of him, her fingers filled with his hair, his hand moved down the side of her body too quickly, too slowly, she arched again to him and his hand slid to her back, to the warm skin under her hoody and back up the line of her spine, and she reveled in the smooth feel of his fingers, in the roughness of his fingerless gloves.

Marny moved her hands to the zipper of his own hoody, his arms moving back as she pushed it off his shoulders, her knees bent on either side of his hips; he broke their kiss to move his lips to her ear, the little hollow behind it, and her neck.

His one hand was still under her hoody at her back supporting her, his other moved to the zipper of her hoody and pulled it down slowly- her fingers moved under his layers of shirts and she sighed when she felt his own warm flesh under her moving fingertips, when she moved her hands to the front of his body and the lines of well worked muscles.

He pulled the hoody down and under her with both hands, pushing the item of clothing off the bed before she pulled at the hem of his shirts, the long-sleeved undershirt and black tee-shirt over it, a giggle escaped her lips and he looked down at her in her jeans and dark brown plain bra, visible under the white undershirt.

"You wear too much clothes." She explained and pulled the shirts over his head. The shirts pushed his gloves off with them.

And then there wasn't anything to giggle about, his mouth was back on hers, her mouth opened in response, she tried to remember to breathe when his hands pulled off her undershirt and the back of his hand brushed across the top of her breast.

She blushed slightly when his hand moved down the center of her chest, the sides of his hand brushing against the sides of her bra, and his hand kept moving down over her belly button to the snap of her jeans. Her own hands were moving over his shoulders, down his back. She wiggled to help remove her jeans when she felt Reid pulling them down over her hips; her brain, her heart, every part of her screamed with pride when her wiggling caused Reid to inhale deeply and groan.

They moved like this for unknown moments, touching and kissing. Marny tasted Reid's ear, Reid bit lightly on Marny's collar bone causing her own deep intake of breath. In the process Reid's jeans were thrown in the scattered pile of clothing collecting on her floor and Marny realized that yes, Reid had had sex before, and she didn't mind.

When they came together it was in a flash of power, gray eyes burned black and brown eyes flashed white, Marny felt the pressure, but she didn't feel the pain, and both of them moved together before their orgasms left them spent and breathing heavily, eyes still unfocused and unnatural.

**TBC**

**Author's Notes: **

That was…better than I thought it was going to be. Haha. My first sex scene, and I think it went off wonderfully.

Review please :D

**References::**

**1 **"I've come to regard you as someone…as someone…someone that I've met." –Red Dwarf


End file.
